


The Dragon Lord's Empire

by bachiari



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Coming of Age, Dragonese, World Domination
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-22
Updated: 2015-01-02
Packaged: 2018-02-18 10:56:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 24,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2345951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bachiari/pseuds/bachiari
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hiccup didn't mean to start an empire, really.  All he ever wanted to do was to protect the dragons.  AU in which Hiccup accidentally achieves world domination after leaving Berk.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1: the Beginning

Title: The Dragon Lord’s Empire  
Author: bachiari  
Summary: Hiccup didn’t mean to start an empire, really.  All he ever wanted to do was to protect the dragons.  AU in which Hiccup accidentally achieves world domination after leaving Berk.

* * *

Chapter 1: The Beginning

* * *

 

Leaving Berk was difficult.  Not the actual leaving; having Toothless ensured that an escape would be virtually impossible to notice or stop.  But the emotional aspect was hard for Hiccup to swallow.  To leave everything he had ever known behind?  

But killing a dragon was _not_ on his to do list, and there was no way Hiccup was going to risk Toothless by trying to convince the Vikings of the good in dragons.  So, in the end, Hiccup gathered all his most precious possessions as well as some necessary provisions, and left Berk on the back of Toothless.  

* * *

The first time they landed was to get provisions.  Living the nomadic life was fun, but finding food in the woods was not Hiccup’s ideal way of life.  Toothless did his best to teach Hiccup how to hunt, but Hiccup preferred to let the night fury do most of the hunting.  They found a place to camp near the river, and although his insides were in turmoil over the fact that he had just left everything he had ever known behind, Hiccup fell asleep in the matter of minutes.

 

* * *

 

Hiccup and Toothless kept to themselves most of the time.  Although Hiccup and Toothless couldn’t use speech to communicate, body language was more than enough.  Hiccup never felt lonely, even without holding conversation, and as such, quite enjoyed being a solitary figure after living all his life as the outcast in Berk.  No one expected anything of you when you were alone in the wilderness after all.

Social constraints had fallen away, and here, with just Toothless as company, Hiccup was no longer Hiccup the Useless.

* * *

They traveled most of the time.  Toothless never seemed to get tired, and Hiccup could never stop enjoying the exhilaration of flying.  He had gotten used to falling asleep on the dragon’s back, and waking up leagues away from the surroundings he had last seen.  Hiccup trusted Toothless to lead them away from any dangerous situations, and Toothless never disappointed.

The two of them never stayed in the same place often.  Hiccup did wind up going into town every now and then; he had to find some way to ensure Toothless’ prosthetic remained intact, after all. The humans he did come into contact with were more than willing to be helpful, and while Hiccup did enjoy their company, he knew it would be too risky to stay any longer than a few days.  After all, people would start asking questions that he couldn’t answer.

* * *

 

A year of this nomadic lifestyle passed before they came across something that drew their attention.  Hiccup had been flitting in and out of most towns they traveled through, and had been astonished by the many differences between each one he had visited.  Different languages was the first obstacle, but body language went a long way in getting his point across.  But the food and the weather conditions were what really impressed him.  He had never tried such exotic flavors before, and to experience warm temperatures made not only him more cheerful, but also made Toothless ecstatic.  

They had traveled almost across the whole world, and had been closer than ever to Berk when Hiccup witnessed something spectacular.  A human speaking to a dragon!  He didn’t understand the language, but that was enough for him to slow Toothless down and catch a glimpse of the spectacle.  It was only moments later that he was shocked again.  The dragon actually responded!

It was there that he learned about Dragonese.

The Wanderers were a hard bunch to convince at first.  Luckily they spoke Norse, but just like other Norse-speaking individuals, they were a hard-headed village and refused to listen to him. However, as soon as they caught sight of Toothless, their whole attitude changed.  He was assigned a tutor right away, and after a month of studying diligently and using Toothless as a study guide, Hiccup was holding longer and longer conversations with his best friend.  

But although the wanderers were amazing, the great unknown called to the pair, and after one more month of studying, Hiccup realized that they had to leave.  The whole village gathered to say good-bye (Hiccup highly speculated that they were actually sadder to see Toothless go than him, but wisely refrained from making that remark) and he was gifted a Dragonese dictionary as a good-bye present.  After promising he would visit soon, the pair was off.

* * *

 

Conversing with Toothless was always a treat.  The dragon always looked at things with a fresh new perspective, and even helped Hiccup to design more and more fascinating things when he had a forge at his disposal.  The prosthetic was looking better than ever, and Hiccup had more and more tools at his disposal.  Tools that could be both used to augment his offense, which he had been studying more and more of in an attempt to prove to Toothless that he was  _not_ a weak little human, and tools that helped in everyday things, like fishing, flying, and cooking.

It was a month after they left the Wanderers that Hiccup found himself in another extraordinary situation.  He had fallen asleep on Toothless like countless other times, and had awoken to a flock of dragons around them.  This had happened before, but this time, Hiccup knew Dragonese.  And he was startled to find that the dragons were in a right panic.  They pleaded and begged Toothless for help, marveling at the human that was on top of the night fury’s back. Toothless had been hostile at first, but after being assured that Hiccup would come to no harm, had quieted down and had listened attentively to the tales the dragons told.  

It wasn’t long before the whole picture was painted.  Their alpha was sick, and the dragon nest was in dire need of a savior.  It didn’t take much convincing for the pair to decide they wanted to help; after all, not only was this something they hadn’t experienced before, but they also wanted to help the dragons.

Hiccup was worried that he wouldn’t be able to help the alpha, but after catching glimpse of the problem that ailed him, Hiccup was filled with relief.  Just like Toothless, the alpha needed a prosthetic in order to move around.  He had lost a tailfin, and Hiccup had an easy solution to that problem.

Long ago, he had designed a prosthetic that would allow the night fury to fly by himself.  He had presented it to Toothless, only to be growled at and within seconds, the contraption was ripped to shreds.  He had been furious then, angered that his month’s work had all went down the drain.  But after realizing Toothless only wanted to fly with him, he had been moved to tears. 

He still had the design, and after reassuring the dragons that their alpha would be right as rain in a few weeks’ time, the dragons were overjoyed.  They pounced on him and bounced around him, showing their thanks and happiness in a way they only knew how.  He surprised them then, laughing and enlightening them to the fact that he spoke Dragonese.  They had been startled, but after a while, enveloped him and Toothless into a community that was structured just like the humans’.

It was three days before Hiccup found the time to go find a forge.  The dragons were too excited over the fact that Hiccup could speak Dragonese, and had insisted on giving the pair of them a grand tour.  Hiccup was amazed; there were so many types of dragons that he had never seen and he was given a glimpse of how the nest operated.  The dragons operated under a caste system, and just like humans, they also had something like the royal family.  There were ‘nobles’, except this was filtered out by fighting and hunting prowess rather than separated by birth.  Each dragon had their own niche in the society, and Hiccup was strongly reminded of his own hometown.

The village was situated at the bottom of the mountain, dangerously close to the opening of the dragon nest.  It was small, but their fields were plentiful, full of ripe crops for the picking.  When Hiccup arrived, he was startled to find that his entrance preceded him, and the whole village was there waiting for him.  

He had slipped in without Toothless, thinking that the dragon would startle the villagers, and was shocked to still see a grand welcoming.  The reason why became apparent almost immediately when as one, the whole village bowed to him. He was too astounded to speak, and could do nothing but stand there as the villagers pushed different kinds of gifts into his hands.  Most of them were freshly harvested crops, but the rare trinket was pushed into his hands as well.

Luckily, the nest was in a Norse-speaking area, and as such, he was able to question them on their intentions.  Apparently, throughout the grand tour the dragons gave him, they had passed by many of the villagers again and again, and it soon dawned on them that this man was not only riding one of the dragons, he was actually conversing with them.  While this village wasn’t at war with the dragons, the dragons still sometimes raided them for the fresh treat of the different kinds of crops they grew.  They were a village focused on farming, and as such, had no way to fight back against the dragons.  Hiccup’s heart went out to them; he knew just how hard it was to keep a village going.  

He gave them back their tributes, shaking his head and saying the only tribute he demanded was free access to their forge.  He promised them that he would talk to the dragons, and ensure that there would no longer be any dragon raids.  They had fallen to the ground once again, bowing and calling him the Dragon Lord.  Hiccup was startled, but after a moment’s consideration, thought he rather liked the moniker.  

It took a month, but with the village helping him every step of the way, Hiccup was able to finish the prosthetic with ease.   The alpha was overjoyed at being able to fly again, and extended a permanent welcome to the pair.  

Toothless and Hiccup accepted without hesitation; they loved the nomadic lifestyle, and always will, but it was time for them to settle down.  The dragons rejoiced in their decision, and threw them a celebration that lasted a week.  

After the celebration finally died down, Hiccup visited the village to tell them the good news. There, he learned about the pirates that would occasionally come by and terrorize them, demanding a sacrifice of girls each them as they did.  Hiccup hated bullies, and after bonding to some of the villagers quite closely, didn’t hesitate to assure them that he would take care of the problem.  

He had only told Toothless about it, but the day they were going to set off to show the pirates a lesson, a dozen other dragons were there with him.  The other dragons were a young, energetic bunch, drunk on the idea of glory, adventure, and fun.  It didn’t take much convincing on Toothless’ part to convince Hiccup of the merits of letting them tag along.  

It only took a day to find the pirates, and less than an hour to exact retribution on them. The pirates surrendered quickly, and the girls that were sacrificed were rescued.  He was lucky Toothless convinced him to let the other dragons come along, because otherwise, there was no way he was going to be able to take the girls back to the village.  The dragons at first balked at the idea of letting someone ride them, but when Toothless reminded them of the many merits of Hiccup as his rider, they seemed excited to receive the girls.  It took longer to assure the girls that the dragons wouldn’t eat them, but in the end, each dragon had a girl on their back.  

When they had taken off, the pirates had asked him who he was.  Hiccup didn’t want to give them his real name, and in the end, decided to give them the name his village had given him.  The Dragon Lord.  He also didn’t hesitate to remind them that the village was under his protection, and he would exact punishment on those who dared attack them.

* * *

 

After returning the girls to the village, Hiccup came up with the idea of setting up a treaty with the village, acting as translator so the two different communities could meet.  With the dragons offering protection and possibly companionship and the villagers promising Hiccup free access the forge and the occasional offering of the different crops they grew, the treaty was signed with ease.

And with that, the Dragon Lord’s Empire had begun.

 

* * *


	2. The Red Death

Chapter 2: The Red Death

* * *

It wasn't long before there were visitors to the village. The pirates were vocal about their sound defeat by the Dragon Lord, mostly because they wanted to salvage their pride by claiming Hiccup wasn't a human and possessed power that could only come from the Gods. Hiccup didn't particularly care what kind of stories they were telling, as long as the fact that the village was under his protection got out.

Life in the village only got better. Before long, the villagers started to treat Hiccup as if he was actually their ruler. The chief of the town deferred decisions to Hiccup, and most of the villagers hung onto his every word. While Hiccup was grateful for their admiration, he was still uncomfortable whenever they got too admiring. It reminded him too much of his time back in Berk; every time he saw the admiration shining in their eyes, he would think back to the twins, Snotlout, and Fishlegs. When it got too overwhelming, he found himself spending more and more time within the nest, and only sneaking to the forge when necessary.

Because he found himself in the nest more often than not, Hiccup spent that time conversing with the alpha. The alpha of the nest was a gentle creature, and was still eternally grateful for what Hiccup had done for him. A dragon's most precious possession was its flight, and since Hiccup had given it back to him, the alpha had extended a permanent invitation to Hiccup and Toothless.

While dragons didn't build huge palaces for their alpha, the dragon still had a place he called his own. The alpha's place was at the top of the nest, and many times, the dragon could be seen overlooking the community as the day wore on. It was full of different kinds of trinkets made by both humans and dragons alike and were all gathered throughout the years of the dragon's long life. As Hiccup got closer to the alpha, he finally learned the dragon's name. Most dragons didn't tell him their names as soon as he met them because learning a dragon's name was a sign of complete and utter trust. He had learned Toothless' real name as soon as he learned how to speak Dragonese; however, the night fury had insisted that Hiccup continue to call him Toothless, as a tribute to their relationship. The dragon felt as if Hiccup had given him a new life through their bond, and to change his name to Toothless only showcased that.

Toothless and he also learned things about being an alpha. Windwalker was patient in his teachings, and spent most of his time pointing out aspects of his ruling to the pair. Just like the humans, the other dragons came to Windwalker to settle any disputes and to ask advice on matters. And just like his father, Windwalker usually dropped everything he was doing to help his dragons. Windwalker insisted they follow him as he made his rounds around the Nest, and seeing how the pair had nothing better to do, they accompanied the alpha as often as they could.

The nest that Hiccup adopted as his only had a population of around thirty, which was around the same number of villagers. It had used to be bigger, Windwalker had explained, but when he had lost his ability to fly, his authority as alpha had waned and some dragons had simply left without even an apology or explanation to the alpha. Hiccup had refrained from asking more, especially because it seemed to be a sore topic for the alpha.

An alpha's first duty was to his dragons, and the thought of being unable to provide for them had hurt Windwalker's pride. Still, the alpha didn't let that bring him down, and worked tirelessly to keep the Nest running. Every dragon had his own role within the Nest, and it was up to Windwalker to keep them under a strict schedule.

Feeding used to be difficult for the dragons. Most of them were expected to hunt for themselves, and while that was fine before Hiccup had come along, the treaty made it a bit more tricky. They weren't allowed to raid the village anymore, and as such, had to keep to the seas to find the fish they so desperately craved. It took Hiccup a week to figure out a solution, and even then, he had readily relied on Toothless for help. He called them fish traps, and they did exactly as their name suggested. Dragons weren't helpless, but they were on the lazy side and preferred to laze around in the sun than to actually do anything strenuous. As such, they loved the fish traps, and were blessedly happy doing absolutely nothing to get their food.

There were all kinds of roles for the dragons. Some made trinkets either by carving wood with a sharp claw or expertly manipulating metal with their fire. Others relished teaching the young, and there was even a little nursery set up by the main spring. The Nest consisted of a waterfall that fell down from the top into a bubbling spring at the bottom, with plenty of different plant species surrounding the main spots. In the long expanse of the waterfall, there consisted a multitude of levels that acted as housing areas for the different types of dragons. It was the best system because the water was accessible to all at a moment's notice and it helped divide the Nest evenly.

The Nest was full of so many different types of dragons that it made sense that housing areas weren't specific to one type. Almost all types of dragons got along well with each other; the only difficulties were finding out the small details, such as how to keep a Deadly Nadder's tail from poking a dragon by accident as they slept. Just like humans, dragons liked to have a place called their own, and even spent time showing off their personal possessions to anyone who showed an interest. The main reason the grand tour had taken so long in the first place was because every dragon had insisted on showing them their housing area.

Toothless and he had been given the level underneath the alpha's as a sign of gratitude for restoring Windwalker's flight. It had been meant for at least four adult-sized dragons so it was far too big for just the two of them. Hiccup had missed having a bed, so the first thing he did after getting a glimpse of the space was to go find one. He was about to make one when the villagers insisted on giving him one of theirs as gratitude for saving the girls as well as establishing the treaty. It had been tricky to move in, but the dragons had all pitched in to help. He had also gotten some other furniture from them, such as a dining table, materials for a fireplace, a wardrobe as well as storage chests, and even a desk to draw blueprints on. He was working on trying to make a forge there; after all, it wasn't as if he didn't have ready access to all types of fire thanks to the dragons.

Toothless hardly took up as much room as him, but even he ended up dragging in some things he liked. In Toothless' side of the level, the night fury had dragged in a huge rock that he used as a nesting area. The night fury had found a rock that could retain heat well and heated it up often with his fire before laying down. Toothless was also fascinated with the wood carvings that some dragons enjoyed doing, and had even been experimenting with making some of his own. Hiccup had to admit that the night fury had been getting better, even though the scratching of the wood sometimes made it hard for him to concentrate. The thing that took up most of the room in the level was the numerous amounts of tailfin prosthetics. With so much time on his hands, Hiccup had ended up making a multitude of different colored ones as well as experimenting with the material he used. Toothless didn't care really; color hardly mattered to a dragon and he trusted Hiccup's taste enough to let him choose the one he wanted. He had even made one with the Berk crest on it, and had ignored Toothless' knowing look.

All in all, the two of them had already carved out a place of their own within the Nest. With each passing day, the place was starting to feel more and more like home.

* * *

It was a few weeks later that one of the dragons from the raid on the pirates approached him with a favor to ask. The Deadly Nadder was a deep shade of purple with shades of blue shining on her wings. She had first approached Toothless, who had then convinced her to go to Hiccup with the same request. While Hiccup was well-liked in the nest, most dragons only tolerated him because Toothless continued to sing his praises. Most were still in bafflement over why Toothless would let a mere human ride him, and wondered openly why Hiccup was still inside the dragon's nest, especially when he already seemed to get along well with the villagers.

Toothless, on the other hand, had already established his position in the dragon's nest. Some dragons had jeered at the night fury at first, poking fun at the fact that Toothless couldn't ride without Hiccup. While the insults seemed to slide right off of Toothless' scales, Hiccup couldn't help but to take it personally. It had taken many days to convince Toothless of the merits of flying on his own, and while they did still use their old saddle whenever they rode together, Toothless did have his own prosthetic to use. The only reason Toothless had accepted the contraption at all was because of how many of the dragons had issued a challenge to the night fury. While Toothless didn't seem to think he needed flight to beat most of the dragons, Hiccup was terrified when he had witnessed the first fight. He could barely stop himself from running in there to stop the fight and the only thing that kept running through his mind was the fact that Windwalker had told him that sometimes dragon duels went to the death.

Toothless had won in a manner of minutes, but the damage it had done to Hiccup's nerves lasted long past. Hiccup had immediately claimed they were leaving until Toothless had convinced him otherwise, quite insulted that his human thought he was going to lose. Hiccup had stormed off in a huff, immediately heading for the forge in the village, and not emerging until he finished his project.

Of course, Toothless thought that the prosthetic gave him the okay to accept more dragon duels, and thus, Toothless ended up fighting every dragon in the nest except for Windwalker, who had never issued a challenge. Hiccup was there for every fight, terrified out of his wits that this was the day he would lose his best friend. He  _hated_  senseless violence, but Toothless was too proud to refuse a challenge.

As soon as the dragon duels had finished, the dragons had accepted both rider and dragon as their own. And even though Hiccup wasn't privy to the dragon ways, even he could tell that Toothless was given status similar to a noble in the human community. He had laughed over that with Toothless more than once, claiming that it reminded him all too well of Berk. And since Toothless was now considered high up in the dragon hierarchy, the status also transferred over to Hiccup. Dragons now treated him with respect and some even listened to him when he issued commands, even when they weren't about human matters.

Hiccup was blindsided by the Deadly Nadder's request. In all his days spent in the dragon's nest, he had never even thought that one day the dragons would want a rider. He had always assumed that only Toothless would deign to a human rider, and only because their bond had been forged out of necessity. Hiccup had wanted to feel needed and Toothless hadn't been able to fly without him.

* * *

Hiccup was a bit hesitant to step back into the village; after abandoning them for so long, he wasn't sure how they were going to receive him. After putting it off for a week, and subsequently getting the death eye from the Deadly Nadder each time they ran into each other, Hiccup mustered up his courage and headed down the mountain. It was a short fly down to the town, and a slightly longer stroll to the town's entrance. Immediately, shouts of recognition were heard, and he was being crowded by the villagers' young. They were beaming and joyously exclaiming greetings to Hiccup. Before long, they were clambering over him, much like the dragons back in the Nest, and soon, the parents were chuckling as they walked over to relieve him of his new additions.

He sheepishly met their gaze, but found that he needn't have worried. The village had gotten along fine without him, and even if he did take a long leave, they wouldn't begrudge him for it. The people he were close to before greeted him as if he had never left, and Hiccup found himself enjoying the flow of the conversations around him.

While talking with the dragons was always fun and interesting, Hiccup had grown up with humans and as such, found their presence familiar and comforting. He was immediately invited to dine with them, seeing as he had walked in at noon, and Hiccup couldn't find a reason to say no. He had been subsisting entirely on fish and the herbs he found around the mountain, so when he had first taken a bite of the roasted rabbit they had presented to him, his mouth was assaulted by flavors he had long forgotten. He had to stop talking as soon as he had taken his first bite, and the villagers had watched him worriedly as he seemed to process the food.

After a minute, Hiccup realized that they were all staring at him, and flushed; he really wasn't used to human contact after spending so much time with the dragons. He hurriedly assured them that the food was amazing and that he just wasn't used to so much flavor. The villagers had burst out laughing at his comment and a villager teased him that he was spending way too much time with the dragons and not enough with the villagers if he didn't even remember what human food tasted like!

Hiccup had sheepishly bowed his head, and the villagers had continued to laugh. Contrary to the times in the village, their laughter wasn't aimed at him, they were laughing  _with_ him. It made all the difference and Hiccup truly felt as if he belonged to their village. It felt  _good_ , and Hiccup found himself promising to visit much more often.

It was after the meal time that he finally spoke up. He didn't know why he was so worried; they weren't Berk and they only had a favorable view of the dragons after the treaty. They knew he was associated with dragons and they still loved him. But he couldn't help expecting to see the village turn on him, calling him a traitor and forbidding him from ever coming back.

As soon as the words left his mouth, he couldn't help flinching and looking downward at his hands. He was terrified to meet their eyes, and all the confidence he had built up in the wilds out there seemed to dissipate. When no sound happened, Hiccup dug his nails into his palm, shaking almost imperceptibly. He hadn't been rejected for so long; he was used to people hanging onto his every word, and to be suddenly pushed back into memories of his past brought unappealing feelings into his heart.

He was finally startled into looking up when he was embraced tightly by thin arms. Soft black hair tickled his nostrils and he reared backward as it finally registered that a  _girl_  was hugging him. He only met another pair of arms behind him, and he flinched as his head hit something soft. When he finally calmed down, he realized that the girls hugging him were the very ones he had saved from the pirates.

It was obvious, they had said when prompted for an explanation by Hiccup, that he was scared and hurt. His words had trembled and he looked on the brink of tears when he had told them about dragon riding. It was a little silly, they had teased, considering that they already knew he was a dragon rider. He had almost broken down and told them the story then, about how just a year ago, he wasn't a Dragon Lord. He was Hiccup the Useless, when his ideas were scorned at and he was the butt of every joke in the Viking village. That no matter how many useful inventions he made, no matter how many times he had helped his father into bed after another day of grueling work, he was called useless every time he headed out for the day and followed and ridiculed by the twins and Snotlout. That even when the Vikings themselves were using the very weapons he had crafted, they  _still_ considered him useless.

But somehow, their open admiration in their eyes and the welcoming presence he felt sitting there in their Grand Hall, swept those feelings away. When he had glimpsed their Grand Hall and had eaten their cooking, he had been swept back into the past. He had expected rejection, and when no one had talked, he had only been further reminded of how utterly  _unwanted_ he used to be.

But they weren't Berk. And  _they_  didn't think he was useless. He was their Dragon Lord, and it was high time he remembered that. Just because he was among humans again, didn't mean all of them thought badly of him.

The villagers didn't mention his momentary weakness and instead most of the younger generation simply changed the topic by volunteering to meet the dragons. The older ones didn't mind meeting them, but most didn't feel as if they were ready to become a rider. After all, they have seen Hiccup in action, and all the flips and turns the night fury did was simply terrifying when viewed from the ground. Hiccup had laughed and then agreed, knowing that Toothless and he were daredevils.

* * *

It was a few days later that he met the group in a glade, full of soft grass, direct sunlight, and trickling water nearby. It was halfway between the village and the Nest. The Deadly Nadder seemed nervous, stalking from one side to the next as Toothless calmly waited next to Hiccup. Hiccup was just on edge; he knew that the dragon was on her best behavior, but he still worried about dragons and humans meeting for the first time.

The girls and boys came as a group, and Hiccup was startled to find that every girl they had rescued from the pirates had come along. When asked, a girl responded that when Hiccup had saved them, they had come to associate the dragon they had rode to safety with a good thing, and had been waiting to ask him about dragon riding.

The meeting took a few hours and was full of a lot of tiptoeing around each other. The boys were more hesitant than the girls, if only because the girls had met the Nadder before. Within an hour though, the group found themselves at ease and they were relaxing as if the Nadder was simply a friend, and not a dangerous predator.

The girl the Nadder had chosen was the very one who had hugged him before. She was named Heather and had a wry sense of humor much like his own. The Nadder and Heather bonded instantly, and although it would take her a long while to learn Dragonese, it seemed as if they were already well on the road to forging the bond between a rider and a dragon.

It was only a few days later that other dragons started to approach him with the same request.

It didn't take him long to get the same group back to the glade. Some dragons walked away without choosing a partner, but it was only to be expected. He promised them that the elders of the village would be willing to try out dragon riding soon, and it was only a matter of time that they too shared a bond with a human.

Toothless was overjoyed to see more people realizing the strength of having a rider. The dragon seemed even more vocal about Hiccup's praise, and countless times Hiccup walked into the tail end of conversations that made him flush red. Toothless was looking more and more smug, and seemed to walk around with an air of superiority. It was silly more than annoying, and Hiccup good naturedly rolled his eyes at it as he continued to work at training the new dragon riders.

* * *

The riders took to it fast. They were always eager to come to training, especially when they found out that they were going to be meeting near the Dragon Nest. There was five of them in total: three boys and two girls, paired off with one gronkle, two deadly nadders, one timberjack, and one monstrous Nightmare.

As time went on, the five riders started calling themselves the Lord's Guard, and when practice ended, started to trail after Hiccup like lost puppies.

In the beginning, Hiccup had suffered through the blatant hero-worship and later on, their need to protect him. But eventually, when he could feel them following him into the wee hours of night, he was at his wit's end. He was just about to confront them when Heather's Deadly Nadder went missing.

Heather was inconsolable, babbling and crying all at once, and begging Hiccup to help her. Luckily, Heather had made a necklace out of one of her dragon's scales and thus had a way to track the dragon. At first, Windwalker had advised Toothless and Hiccup to not find her, stating that the dragons that had deserted had left in a similar fashion. But Hiccup was positive that the Nadder would never abandon her rider like that, no matter how lacking she considered her alpha to be. He refused to believe that the bond between a rider and a dragon could be so easily broken.

Although Toothless wasn't a tracker dragon, the scale proved enough for the night fury to gain the general sense of where the Nadder had gone. The rest of the Lord's Guard had wanted to follow him, but he had firmly disagreed. If something bad had happened, then he wouldn't have time to worry about them.

He set off minutes after the argument had taken place. An hour into their flight, a flock of dragons surrounded them, startling Hiccup into pressing himself onto Toothless' scales. Something told him that these dragons weren't friendly; they were flying too erratically and none of them had called out the customary greetings between two dragons that didn't know each other.

A few minutes later, and Hiccup caught sight of a mountain, not unlike the one that housed his Nest. He was at first wary to enter another alpha's Nest without permission, but something was awfully wrong. After quietly conversing with Toothless, the pair decided to take a risk and check out the Nest. It wasn't hard to sneak in for there was a multitude of dragons flying into the mouth of the mountain. With Toothless' dark scales and insane speed, they were able to hover from shadow to shadow, successfully stealing into the Nest.

They were shocked to see the inside. Unlike their Nest, where nature was abundant, this Nest was full of Death and smelled strongly of blood. Where the majority of their Nest was a bubbling spring of clear mountain water, this was a mass of nothingness that seemed to go on forever. While there were many more dragons in this one, they were weak and frail looking, looking like they were going through the motions rather than actually living. It was a far cry from the dragons he was used to seeing; they were more playful than not, and each one had a visible personality. These were...they were shells of what a dragon actually was.

While he was lost in thought, the dragons had continued to carry out their chores. He had almost missed the Gronkle traveling to the center of the massive sinkhole, but the sudden cease of noise caused him to look upward. It was obvious that the Gronkle hadn't brought enough food, and the other dragons were waiting with bated breath to see what would happen.

Hiccup almost fell off Toothless when he caught glimpse of the other alpha. It had surged upward with massive rows of teeth and a powerful jaw, and had snapped the Gronkle up in one crunch of its teeth.

All the other dragons scattered, and Toothless followed suit, using the shadows again to ensure the alpha wouldn't notice them. When they were finally out in the open, safe and sound, Hiccup finally let go of the breath he hadn't realized he was holding.

While he was affected by the gruesome nature of the other alpha, he was more affected by the glimpse he had gotten right before they had blasted out of the Nest.

He had seen Heather's Deadly Nadder.

* * *

Windwalker was furious when he found out about the other alpha. Alphas were supposed to protect their own, he kept on shouting furiously in Dragonese and ending each shout with a long stream of curse words.

Hiccup wisely refrained from commenting, simply letting the old dragon work off his steam. Their alpha wasn't only mad at the other alpha's mistreatment of her dragons; he was furious that he hadn't been able to keep his dragons from her mind control.

It was a few hours before Windwalker started making sense again. The alpha had settled down onto its belly, and Hiccup couldn't help but to think how small the alpha was compared to the one he had just seen. Especially compared to all the grand trinkets that littered the alpha's place.

The alpha was known as the Red Death. Apparently rumors of her exploits had gotten out to other Nests, but the extent of her deeds had never been discovered. Most had thought they were just rumors, and thus, hadn't moved to stop her.

Apparently, alphas had a way to control their dragons. Most didn't use it because it was demeaning and went against everything an alpha was supposed to be. It was even ruder when the mind control affected those from different Nests. Apparently, if the alpha attempting mind control was stronger than the other alpha, the dragon would lose all sense of control and simply fly straight toward the nest.

There was no cure. The only way to stop it was to either kill the other alpha outright or to present a stronger alpha. And while Windwalker was a kind, intelligent, and resourceful alpha who took care of the dragon Nest's many problems, he wasn't very strong outright. Especially compared to the dragon that had surged out of the Nest. There was no other option to save the dragons other than to mount a full frontal assault against the other Nest.

Hiccup  _really_ didn't want to start another war. He enjoyed life without Berk, and one of the main reasons was the lack of violence in the wild. He didn't particularly enjoy confrontation and he quite valued his life now that he had found a place that he belonged.

But his sense of justice wouldn't let him ignore the happenings. Those dragons had lost a sense of themselves; they looked like they were barely alive. The thought of that happening to his Toothless scared him down to his very core. He pitied Heather; just imagining that one day Toothless would ignore his commands - ignore their  _friendship -_  to fly off into the open sky was like a nightmare.

But to fight other dragons, he would need more help. Their nest only numbered as a population of thirty, and having the Lord's Guard would only help marginally. The other alpha had an army of dragons.

He, in good conscience, couldn't even make use of the dragon riders. They had no protection against fire, dragon claws or bites, and even the simple fact of gravity could kill them. He didn't want to see anymore people die, and that was what war with the other alpha would bring if he let dragon riders fight alongside him.

No, to fight the Red Death, he would need dragons.

* * *

Windwalker was adamantly against the idea. To take over other Nests was just as insidious of a deed as the Red Death's. He was appalled that the pair would even come up with such a dastardly plan.

Hiccup had argued that he wasn't going to  _take_  over the other Nests, just beat them in a couple of fights until they were willing to fight for him. He wasn't looking to become the alpha of multiple Nests; the thought of it was terrifying enough. He wasn't leader material and he and Toothless were just two minds. How could they even attempt to control the amount of Nests they were planning to hit?

It took three days for Windwalker to finally see the merit in his idea. Hiccup spent those three days in the forge, finally getting to work on the armor designs that he made long ago. It didn't have to withstand up to to human weapons, but it did have to protect him from dragon fire and claws. He had never actually thought he would ever need to use it; he had never planned to fight against dragons and thought that every dragon was good inherently. Of course, his thinking was completely wrong. There were good dragons and bad dragons, just like humans.

Although Toothless had beat every dragon in the nest single-handedly, Hiccup hadn't done a thing to earn the dragons' respect. But this time, the new dragons had to respect  _him_ and Toothless. Just having dragons on their side wasn't enough; if it was just dragons versus dragons, there was no telling who was going to win. But if he was able to strategize and direct them toward places that needed them, then they had a much higher chance of winning.

No, this time, he and Toothless were going to fight  _together_.

As soon as Hiccup had told the night fury about his plan, the dragon had protested immediately. In the beginning, the night fury had been smug at his proclamation, thinking that Hiccup had such strong faith in his abilities to beat every other dragon in the world. But after hearing that Hiccup would be accompanying him, he had immediately snapped a denial.

But they didn't have the luxury of time. More and more dragons were being lost to Red Death's control, and while her army was growing, theirs was staying exactly the same size. They needed to convince other Nests as fast as possible, and as such, they needed to fight as many dragons as possible.

"We'll do it together, bud," he had reassured his best friend, "As one, no one can defeat us."

With the surety shining in his expression, he knew Toothless couldn't say no.

With a heaved sigh and a shake of his head in resignation, the night fury agreed.

* * *

To be safe from dragons, he would need to utilize the only thing that could withstand their hits. He had found the material long ago, when the fishing contraptions he built for the dragons kept on falling to pieces. It had taken ages to find, and he had resigned himself to having to rebuild the fish traps every week. Toothless had been the one to spot it; there was this material that was underwater that the dragons stepped on constantly, and somehow the running water and the dragon's claws had done nothing to harm it. Fire hardly damaged it; it wasn't fireproof but it was resistant enough that it would serve its purpose well. It didn't take him long to come up with a design; he had crafted many throughout the years and it was only a matter of picking which one he wanted. The material was a sleek black and took him a week to learn how to craft. It was only through high temperatures that he was able to work with it; he had relied on a friendly Gronkle's fire rather than Toothless' in order to achieve the high temperatures. It took about a week to finish crafting, and covered him from head to toe.

When the armor was finished, Hiccup decided it was time to look into offense. While Toothless had his plasma blasts, Hiccup had to come up with something that wouldn't kill, but would be a hindrance to the dragons they planned to fight. As such, he came up with a contraption that would bypass the need for strength. He had never had huge hulking muscles, and just like he had told Gobber so long ago, you didn't  _need_ strength to take down a dragon. He had used a similar device on Toothless long ago in Berk, and it took nothing more than a press of a button to activate.

However, this time, the invention wasn't as bulky and could be easily held with two hands. It was sleek and black, almost the same color as Toothless' scales, and had an opening for something to be inserted. It was extremely similar to a bow, but relied on machinery rather than strength. While he had entertained the ideas of arrows, the fact remained that he didn't want to hurt the dragons. He had to come up with something else. As such, he had come up with a variation of the dragon nip that they had found so long ago on Berk. When strained and mushed together into a liquid, it was able to knock out even the heaviest of dragons for hours. The dragons he tried it on were not very happy with him afterward, but hey it was for a good cause, right?

It wasn't easy coming up with something that could hold the liquid  _and_ pierce a dragon's skin. It took him days of planning, but eventually he had used the concept of the Deadly Nadder's offense. The dragon used its tail to shoot venom out, and the spikes that came out were usually sharp enough to pierce through most dragons' scales. It was effective, but the wound was small enough that it would heal up after a couple of hours.

The second kind of 'arrow' he had come up with used the many discarded eels that the dragons had kept in the Nest. Dragons were lazy creatures, and whenever an eel would find its way into the fish traps, they would simply drop it into a deep hole at the bottom of the Nest. As such, there were more than a million dead eels within that hole.

After confirming with Toothless that it was mostly the smell that caused the dragons to back away, he realized he could use it to make a no-dragon zone. Toothless had described the smell as something horrendous, and most dragons couldn't continue smelling it for more than a few minutes before passing out. After being reassured that the smell never harmed permanently, Hiccup tried out his concoction in one of places in the Nest. He was happy to find that no dragon had stepped in for more than a minute before rushing back out.

The arrow held a small delicate vial that would break open the minute it hit the ground with a high force. It would cover an area for at least two hours before dissipating into the air.

The last offensive item he had come up with was a whistle that blew at a frequency that threw off most dragons' aim. It was a last resort, simply because the noise bothered Toothless as well. But if he ever was separated from Toothless during the fights, he was going to be able to at least hold his own until Toothless was able to get back to him.

It didn't take him longer than a week to craft the necessary materials. The Lord's Guard had accepted the fact that they weren't allowed to come along to his 'adventure' as they called it, but they still insisted on helping him out. Mushing up dragon nip took time and effort, but luckily with such eager workers, the task was finished quickly and efficiently.

Before they left, Windwalker approached them with a good-luck charm. It was made out of one of his lesser scales, and attached to a strong silver chain. With it, the pair should be able to shake off another alpha's mind control. It was more of a resistance rather than actually being foolproof, so they still had to be careful.

"Don't worry about us," Hiccup had promised earnestly when he had caught sight of Windwalker's distraught expression. "We're Vikings, after all. It's an occupational hazard. We'll be back before you know it."

* * *

It was only a day's flight to the nearest Nest. Most dragons built their nests in mountains, if only because humans hadn't found a way to break into one yet. They were guaranteed isolated spots, and with their wings, it was easy for dragons to enter.

Toothless landed at the foot of the mountain, his ears standing straight up at attention to catch any sounds around them as Hiccup started to set up camp. It was too late to challenge the alpha now, and it was essential that they weren't found out until the morning. It hardly took any effort for Hiccup to finish; although they hadn't been out on the road for a year, some habits could never be forgotten.

They were settling down for the night, the fire crackling low when Hiccup spoke. He was nestled against Toothless' side like old times, the scales bringing more warmth than the fire ever could.

"You know, bud, when we left Berk, I never could have imagined that we would be out here now."

Toothless paused in the midst of washing his scales, " _What? Fighting dragons? Of course not, this is a Hiccup scheme through and through."_

"Hey!" he shouted, offended. Toothless simply laughed in the way he always did, only making Hiccup flush even more. "You agreed to it!"

" _I'm only stating that everything you do is extremely unpredictable. Am I not right?"_

Hiccup scowled darkly, folding his arms together in front of his middle as he mock glared at his best friend. Toothless hardly seemed to notice; the dragon had returned to cleaning his scales.

"Fine, fine, you're right. I admit, this plan does have its flaws. But we have to try something, and I'm not going to wait around till the Red Death tries to steal you."

" _Is that what you're pouting about? I'm stronger than any other dragon, no alpha is going to be able to control me."_

"That's what you think," muttered Hiccup, a frown on his face as he remembered his glimpse of the Nadder's listless eyes.

" _Hiccup, our bond will protect us. Never before has there been a friendship between a dragon and a human, let alone a dragon rider. And why would there have been? Humans have always been our prey, and predators don't play around with their food."_

"Nice to know that you think I'm food."

" _I'm only stating the facts. We're something different, Hiccup, and the villagers were right when they called you the Dragon Lord. We're going to change things, and make things better. You have nothing to worry about besides staying on my back. I'll take care of the dragons tomorrow."_

"Hey! I'm not the weak little thing I used to be," he protested, and got a dragon laugh in response. "You gotta admit that my weapons are pretty cool."

Toothless didn't even deign to respond, and after a nuzzle to the neck, Toothless settled down to sleep. " _Good night, little one_."

"Good night, you annoying reptile."

Toothless' answering laugh filled the air, and Hiccup fell asleep with a smile on his face.

* * *

They were up before the sun, and it took mere minutes for them to finish packing up their campsite. They hadn't caught a glimpse of a dragon yet, but there were multiple signs of dragons all around the mountain. Hiccup was a bundle of nerves, bouncing on top of Toothless and jittery enough that he could barely hold onto his weapon.

" _Can you settle down up there?"_ Toothless asked exasperatedly with a hint of fondness mixed in. " _I can barely concentrate what with you bouncing around like that."_

"I can't help it! I'm so worried and nervous and what if my weapons don't work? Maybe these dragons  _like_  eels."

" _Who cares about your little weapons? I'm a night fury, in case you don't remember."_

"Uh-huh, the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself."

" _You little humans are so strange. How could my parents be lightning and death? That doesn't even make sense."_

"Hey, all we saw of you were flashes in the air and you rained death upon all of us. And you never even took anything! Can you blame us for thinking you were descended from the gods?"

" _Right. Thanks for making up a legend for me, it truly warms my heart to know that the humans all fear me."_

"I really should  _not_  have taught you sarcasm," lamented Hiccup.

He got a dragon laugh in return, and before he knew it, they were flying toward the entrance of the Nest.

Although his heart was beating a hundred times faster than normal, Hiccup couldn't deny that he felt exhilaration as well. It reminded him of the first time Toothless and him went on a test drive, and they had no one but each other to save them from certain death.

They hadn't even been able to communicate to each other yet, and they had already trusted each other with their lives. It was crazy to think that the two of them could take on a whole nest of dragons and win.

But he had Toothless' back and Toothless had his.

Together, there was no way they could lose.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who commented and gave kudos to the last chapter! :) 
> 
> I'm actually really happy with this chapter.
> 
> Special thanks to LokiLiesmith for all the interesting points you brought up! I added dialogue so I hope you like it :3
> 
> Also, since Hiccup would be visiting many nests, do you guys think it would be too early to introduce Valka? I'm still not sure if I want them to meet so early, or wait until Hiccup meets Dargo. Let me know! :)


	3. Chapter 3

They had been waiting for an hour at the edge of the entrance.  The sun had risen long ago, and even Toothless seemed to be getting annoyed.  “ _How could they not have any sentry dragons out here?  The idiocy of this nest is appalling,”_ the night fury continued to grumble underneath his breath, and Hiccup started to rub soothing circles on Toothless’ scales in order to get him to calm down.

It was rude to enter a Nest without the alpha’s permission, but it seemed as if they would have to stake out the place for hours before any dragon would notice them.  The place seemed deserted and if it wasn’t for the many footprints littering the dirt of the island, Hiccup would have thought they had come to the wrong place.   It was even ruder to draw attention to oneself instead of waiting patiently, but the pair was on their last nerves.

After a moment’s consultation, Toothless opened his jaws and gave a mighty roar.  The place reverberated with the sound and within seconds, Terrible Terrors had dashed out from behind  trees, their little wings beating quickly to stay upright as they observed the strange duo. 

“ _Who are you?  And why is there a human on you?  Is he a snack?”_

“ _Snack?”_ piped up another Terrible Terror.  “ _I haven’t tried human before_.  _Do you think he’s tasty?”_

Toothless bared his teeth at the smaller dragons, but Hiccup was the one to answer.  He wanted them to know that they were different, and the fastest way to do so was to show he knew Dragonese.

“My name’s Hiccup, and this is Toothless.  We would like to see your alpha, if possible.”  He kept his tone polite, and refrained from snapping back at the dragons.

As soon as he spoke, the dragons reared backward in surprise, and it was minutes before the dragons started chattering again. 

“ _He speaks our language!  How?  You understand us?”_

“Yes,” he replied politely, “and I’m not a snack by the way.  I’m a dragon rider.”

“ _Dragon rider?  Does that mean what I think it does?”_

_“We’re partners,”_ replied Toothless.

“ _But you let a human ride you?  How could a night fury allow a human to control him?”_

Toothless answered with a low growl, and only stilled when Hiccup placed a firm hand onto his neck. 

“Please,” he murmured, and was satisfied to see the terrors jump in surprise again.  “Everything will be explained when we meet your alpha.”

The terrors glanced at each other, and after a minute’s consideration, the leader of the terrors spoke again.  “ _Follow us.”_

 The flight to the alpha was full of interesting sights.  He had only seen his Nest and the Red Death’s and was fascinated to be privileged to view another.  The new Nest didn’t feature a huge waterfall; instead, this one seemed to be a bit less organized.  This one was full of less nature, and instead featured large rocks that seemed to hold the housing areas of the Nest.  Dragons watched them curiously from the ground, stopping their day’s work in order to watch the group fly by.  While there were many more dragons in this Nest, none of them seemed to be as healthy as his dragons back home.  His dragons had a more vibrant color in their scales and seemed to be more energetic and less as if they had just been worked to the bone.  Hiccup knew it was because of the fish traps he had designed for them as well as many other contraptions, but he also suspected that the Nest was also undergoing some harsh times as well. 

It seemed as if the Red Death had hit this Nest as well.

* * *

 

The alpha looked up as they approached, causing Hiccup to shiver under the intense gaze.  Toothless seemed just as unnerved, and Hiccup could feel his best friend’s muscles tensing as he got ready for flight.

The alpha moved _fast_ , and within moments, Hiccup found himself face-to-face with the dragon.  “ _You dare to bring a human into my Nest?”_  The words were spoken calmly, but were no less deadly in the extreme silence of the place. 

“I dare,” responded Hiccup, “because I am no mere human.”

The dragon was just as stumped as the terrors were, rearing back in surprise and falling back a few feet.  “ _You speak our tongue.”_

“I do,” and he finally let a little of his personality show, “And believe me, it was _not_ easy for me to learn.”

The dragon watched him wearily and seemed to struggle to find words to respond.  “ _Who taught you?  The night fury?”_

Hiccup couldn’t help snorting a laugh at the thought of learning Dragonese from Toothless, “There’s a tribe called the Wanderers.  They taught me how to make these noises with my throat, and gifted me with a book that taught me further.”

“ _Ah, I have heard of them before, but never had I heard such a fluent human.  Conversing with your night fury has taught you well.”_

Hiccup smiled at the words of praise, “Toothless has taught me many things.  Some even more precious than the gift of language.”

“ _You two are close,”_ observed the alpha, and Hiccup could tell that the dragon had finally caught sight of the saddle Toothless wore.  He probably didn’t understand what it was, but he did know that it wasn’t customary for a dragon to wear one.

“We’re best friends,” he supplied, a smile on his face as he remembered just how true those words were.  “But it’s deeper than that.  I’ll give my life for him and he’ll do the same for me.”

“ _It is not customary to see a human and dragon this close.”_   Hiccup nodded thoughtfully at the alpha’s words, a small smile on his face as the alpha puzzled out his thoughts.  “ _You have given me much to think about.  The world is changing faster than I thought it was.”_

“It is,” conceded Hiccup.  “But I didn’t come here just to show you the bond Toothless and I share.  How is your nest faring lately?  Any dragons just up and desert?”

The alpha seemed to be unnerved by his frank question, but because he was impressed by the bond the two shared, the alpha had seemed to decide to answer truthfully.  _“It’s a sore topic, but a few of mine have left.”_

_“_ There’s this alpha out there.  She’s crazy big and ruthless enough to use her status as an alpha to bend other dragons to her will.  She’s taken dragons from my nest as well, and I can’t get them back unless she’s stopped.”

The alpha regarded him with one eye, before nodding slowly.  “ _You want our help_.”

“I need dragons to fight back,” he responded truthfully, “and my nest has been hit too hard to mount a full-frontal assault without help.”

“ _Something does need to be done about the alpha, but my dragons would never consent to following a mere human.”_

_“_ But I’m not just a human.  With Toothless here, I’m a dragon rider and our bond allows us to do things that have never been done before.  Let me show you just how powerful our bond can be.”

“ _Are you challenging me to a duel?”_

“I don’t want to be alpha,” he hurriedly reassured the dragon, “but I do need to prove myself to your dragons.  And the fastest way to do that is to challenge them.”

It only took the alpha minutes to decide to accept, and after conversing with his strongest warriors, the duel was set to be tomorrow at noon.

* * *

They needed to find someplace to hide.  Luckily, Hiccup’s black armor helped with this, blending in with the shadows of the towering rocks.  When Hiccup had designed most of his weaponry, he had nature in his mind; he had never imagined that the first nest they were going to visit would consist of such a desert habitat.  There weren’t even any green on the sandy surface and the rocks were more of a hindrance than a good thing.  Although they could use them as a hiding place, the rocks presented too many obstacles to utilize Toothless’ wings.

It was really unfortunate considering Hiccup had been banking on their superb flying skills to help them out.  It looked like it would be a combination of trying to single out each dragon in order to win this one.  It was just the two of them against the world, as always, and it would be much easier to fight one on one then to fight them all at once.

He had spread the eel smell around them already, far enough away that it wouldn’t bother Toothless but close enough that the dragons wouldn’t be able to approach them without passing out.  The enclosure they had found helped greatly with this plan, but they wouldn’t be able to hide out forever.  The other dragons already knew where they were so it was only a matter of time before they were able to find a way in.  

The only thing they had left was his dragon nip.  He had tested an arrow laced with dragon nip on a dragon the other day in order to ensure that they worked on this Nest as well as his own. The dragon had dropped like a rock, purring happily as it had escaped into unconsciousness. But arrow by arrow wouldn’t work.  It was too slow, and Hiccup didn’t trust his aim well enough.  He had thought that they could leave a narrow way for a dragon to make its way in on its own and then shoot it as it was charging in, but knowing his luck, he would miss.

But if he could somehow find a way to make a trap in order to make them all drop utilizing the nip and the whistle, they could definitely win this.  The sheer amount of numbers on the dragons’ side was actually to their favor, none of them would dare stop to check the surroundings when all of them thought there was no way Hiccup and Toothless could win.

He set to work building the trap, using the materials he had stored away in this pouch before he had left his Nest.  It wasn’t hard; all he needed to do was rig the top with large amounts of dragon nip.  With Toothless’ fire, they should be able to turn the nip into gas, which would hopefully knock them out as well as the arrows.  And with the whistle to hold them in place as well as newly placed eel arrows, there was no way the plan could fail.

It took him quite a while, but eventually he was able to set up the trap.  He told Toothless to wait up above as he stood just mere meters away from the trap.  He would act as bait, and while the dragon nip might knock out Toothless, the gas was basically harmless to him.  

He settled in to wait, watching the entrance warily.

It wasn’t long before the dragons simply decided to rush past the eel gas and into the clearing. There were so many of them and only the two of them; they figured that one of them would get through and be able to win the fight before the amount of casualties piled up.

They looked confused when they saw only Hiccup there, but rushed ahead anyway, eager to get out of range of the smell of the eels.  It wasn’t long before most of them were gathered there, and Hiccup waited seconds before yelling Toothless’ name.

The night fury acquiesced and the sound of the Night Fury’s shriek ripped through the air, startling the dragons into looking above them.  They caught a glimpse of the trap seconds before it caught on fire, spreading rapidly until all of the nip was smoking.  The gas filtered through the air seconds later and the dragons started dropping.

Hiccup blew on his whistle hard, before running backwards as fast as he could.  He didn’t want to take the chances that one of the dragons would be unaffected by the gas; without Toothless, he was basically a sitting duck.  

Suddenly, a Gronkle was above him; apparently it hadn’t caught a whiff of the gas since it was such a slow flier.  He heard Toothless’ distressed shriek, and his heart was doing a good job of imitating his best friend.

But he wasn’t helpless.  He still had one more trick.

Trembling, he reached forward and scratched underneath the Gronkle’s neck, looking for the sweet point that made all dragons drop.  As soon as he pressed it, the Gronkle’s eyes rolled upward and it fell forward.  Hiccup was barely able to scramble out from underneath it, and watched as the Gronkle hit the sandy floor.

Flushed with adrenaline, he turned to face Toothless as the night fury landed next to him.  He buried his face into the warm scales, laughing happily as they both turned to look at the chaos in front of them.  

They did it.

They had won against a whole Nest.

Suddenly, defeating the Red Death didn’t seem so impossible.

* * *

The celebration lasted for a day.  As soon as the dragons had awoken, they had been incredulous that the little human had been able to defeat them.  Suddenly, Toothless was the envy of the whole Nest, a far cry from the dragons thinking the night fury weak for allowing a human to ride him.

The younger ones crowded around Hiccup constantly, incredibly impressed that he was able to knock all of them out in one move.  It didn’t help that the dragon nip had not only knocked them out, but also made them feel good.  Most of the younger ones wanted more of the nip, but Hiccup had refused, not wanting them to get addicted to it.  

And secretly, he didn’t want them to build up a resistance to them in case he needed to use them in the future. 

The alpha was extremely impressed with him as well, even asking if the pair of them wanted to join their Nest instead of their old one.  Hiccup had refused; he loved Windwalker and the barren desert habitat didn’t suit him.  He missed the trees and the waterfall of his old Nest, and if they weren’t so pressed on time, he would’ve wanted to go back to tell them the good news.

The amount of praise and wonder the dragons treated them with was intoxicating and went straight to Toothless’ head.  Toothless was already a vain dragon, but the admiration in even older dragons’ eyes made the night fury’s chest puff up with pride.  

Hiccup endured it all, especially since most of his best friend’s pride hinged off of Hiccup’s own accomplishments.  Toothless loved praise of Hiccup.  The dragons figured that out early on, and now spent most of their compliments on how Toothless had raised Hiccup extraordinarily well.  Most even commented on how they wanted a human now as well.  Hiccup was a resourceful one, being able to knock out the whole Nest with just his imagination, and they wanted to see if all the other humans were like that too.

Hiccup tended to evade the topic when they turned to him, letting Toothless take care of it all.  He didn’t mind if things played out that way, and besides, in some way, he _was_ Toothless’ human.  Toothless did play a big part in raising him from when he was fourteen, and he wasn’t lying when he told the alpha that Toothless had taught him a number of important things.

Eventually, it came time for them to leave.  The younger dragons were inconsolable, complaining that Hiccup hadn’t finished teaching them and they weren’t ready to say goodbye yet.  Hiccup didn’t let them sway him; time was too precious and they had already wasted enough time in this Nest.  

* * *

 

They were only an hour’s flight away from the Nest when an arrow whizzed past them.  It was lucky that the arrow was way off its mark because neither of the pair had been paying much attention.  The sound alerted their senses though, and with only a moment’s hesitation, Hiccup nudged Toothless into doing a spin, barely dodging more arrows.

They would be able to dodge the arrows until they were out of range, but some part of Hiccup was incensed.  He knew he shouldn’t be; the people who shot the arrows were scared, not bloodthirsty.  A lone dragon in the middle of the day never boded well for villages.

But it reminded him of Berk, and their immutable stance on dragons.  And he wanted to teach these new humans a lesson they wouldn’t forget.

It only took a moment to find out where the arrows were coming from and only a few minutes more for the pair to reach the archers.  As they got closer, fear strayed the archers’ hands, sending their aim awry.  Any arrows that got close enough to the pair was easily knocked away by Toothless’ paw and tail or deflected by Hiccup’s armor.

He landed right inside the center of the village, making sure that their backs was against a wall to ensure that no one would be able to sneak up on them.  He knew he should be more cautious; the villagers of Berk had ways to deal with a dragon permanently and there was no reason these villagers wouldn’t be as skilled.

But he was still drunk off the success of gaining the new Nest’s allegiance, and some part of him believed that he would be able to convince the humans. 

Their landing didn’t go unnoticed.  Shouts from the archers had roused the other villagers, and it wasn’t long before the pair was surrounded.  They were Vikings, wearing the traditional garb that Hiccup had grown up with and reminded Hiccup greatly of Berk.

He ignored the pang of pain that had come with that realization, instead scanning the crowd for the chief.  It wasn’t hard to tell who the chief was; he carried himself in much the same way as Stoick did and the villagers parted respectfully for him so he could reach the front of the crowd. 

Hiccup spoke before the chief did, though he didn’t remove his mask, “Your archers shot at me.”

The whole village startled at his words; he highly suspected that none of them had actually realized he was human.  The chief’s expression turned sour at the realization and he scowled at Hiccup and Toothless.  “And it is a pity they had missed.  You spared us the trouble though by being arrogant enough to come into our village with just the two of you.”

“I’m not scared,” he responded truthfully.  None of their weapons would be able to pierce his armor and he and Toothless would be able to take off before the villagers would be able to react.  “I know Vikings, and you cannot hope to defeat us.”

“Us?  You mean you and your pet dragon?” asked the chief, an expression of pure disbelief on his face.

The utter shock on the chief’s face sent a surge of anger throughout Hiccup; it reminded him so much of his father’s lack of ability to listen to him. “Toothless is not my pet dragon.  He’s my partner.”

“What does it matter if he’s your pet or not?  You both will die today,” the chief paused to heft his heavy hammer more firmly into his right hand, “and your heads set on spikes to send a reminder to any other humans stupid enough to ride a dragon.”

Hiccup scowled, “Don’t you see?  Dragons and humans can _work_ together.  We shouldn’t be fighting.”

“Dragons have raided us for centuries, boy.  You won’t be convincing any of us that dragons aren’t evil.”

“Why won’t you listen to me?” asked Hiccup exasperatedly.

“I’m sick of this talk.  We fight now!”

The chief started to rush forward, forcing Hiccup and Toothless to get ready to take off. Before the chief was even halfway there, there were shouts from the villagers and the sound of beating wings filled the air.

The shock of seeing so many dragons outside of a raid stayed the Vikings’ hands and they all watched open-mouthed as six dragons settled protectively around the smaller pair.

 “Why are you guys here?” asked Hiccup in Dragonese.  “Didn’t we tell you guys not to follow us?”

 A changewing answered without a trace of shame in her words.  “We were only going to follow you for a bit to make sure you guys don’t run into trouble.”

“Yeah!” backed up a Zippleback, with the right head continuing the conversation, “And good thing we came considering you two decided to land right in enemy territory.”

“But,” huffed Hiccup, a frown marring his features, “didn’t we already prove that we can take care of ourselves?”

This time, a monstrous Nightmare responded, “Toothless did say you have some silly ideas.  We just wanted to make sure you two would get out safe.”

Hiccup threw up his arms in exasperation, “Toothless!  What’d you tell them?”  He was annoyed to hear the other dragons’ laughing at his actions, and glared balefully down at the night fury.

“You monster!  You’re a traitor to your own kind!”

The harsh words brought Hiccup’s attention back to the village and he turned to set his glare on them.  He climbed off of Toothless, stalking toward the Vikings until he was at the very tip of the dragon’s circle.  He was just so frustrated that he spit out the first words that came into his mind.

“You thought dragons were dangerous before?  Dragons don’t understand how humans work, but  _I_ do.  I can teach them how to raze your crops to the ground so you won’t even have a chance to survive winter.  I’ll burn down your village in less than an hour and I’ll have them devour all your livestock.  And they’ll  _listen_ to me.  So I ask again, do you really want to cross me?”

The sight of Hiccup conversing with other dragons must be a truly frightening sight if the chief actually sank to his knees and bowed his head.  “What would you have us do?”

Hiccup hesitated at the sight, shame creeping into his heart as he thought back to his actions.  He hadn’t wanted to frighten them – he didn’t want to think about what he was becoming, a man who broke villages and bent them to their will.   He hadn’t been putting much thought upon his words, and seeing the consequences laid out in front of him was heartbreaking.

But it was too late to go back now.  The words were already said, and to be honest, he wanted them to repent.  They had shot the first arrow and that action alone told him that these people were hurting dragons. 

He was still human, but he belonged to the dragons.

“Swear allegiance to me,” he said quietly, moving past the protective circle of dragons and ending up next to the chief.  The chief stiffened at his words, and to his credit, barely flinched when Hiccup gently lowered his hand to rest on the chief’s shoulder.

“Swear you’ll stop hunting dragons.  I know it’s in your history, but I’m proof enough that the dragons are good, aren’t I?  Things will be different around here, but it’ll be a good different, I promise.”

“But the raids?” the chief spoke up gruffly.  “Are we not allowed to defend ourselves?”

Hiccup smiled wryly at the question, even though the mask hid his expression.  “You won’t have to worry about that anymore.  As long as you don’t attack them, they won’t attack you.  You have the Dragon Lord’s word.”

“The Dragon Lord, eh?” the chief repeated quietly.  Suddenly, the chief looked upward, his stern brown eyes flitting around until it rested on where he probably thought Hiccup’s eyes were.  “This is a small price to pay for peace, little Dragon Lord, if your words are true.”

“You’re under my protection, but only until you harm a dragon.  And if you do, I swear to Odin, I will make your village pay.”

It only took moments for the chief to swear allegiance to him and the atmosphere lightened considerably after that.  Hiccup hadn’t meant to make another village his; he didn’t want to have more lives under his protection.  But he had seen his father in the bowed figure of this village’s chief, and something inside of him had broke.  The chief was only doing what was best for his village, and what right did Hiccup have to demand allegiance?

He wasn’t made to be responsible for others, even if he was a chief’s son.  He had fled from that role, and shouldn’t that make him ineligible to be a leader?

But here he was, trying to create peace between two entities that have been at war forever.  And maybe he wasn’t the right person for the job.  And maybe he wasn’t meant to be a leader.

But he was the only one who could be the bridge between dragons and humans.  And even if he wasn’t the best option, he was all they’ve got. 

And he wasn’t going to let them down.

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

* * *

When Hiccup returned to the Nest, the alpha and him had a difficult time coming to terms with Hiccup's decision. They didn't particularly need to raid the humans; none of the things that the humans possessed was necessary to a dragon's well being, but the dragons still didn't understand why they needed to stop the raids. After all, some dragons had already lost some young to the humans' weapons and they still wanted vengeance. The villagers were also not offering something of importance to change the dragons' mind, the allegiance to Hiccup notwithstanding, but Hiccup knew he could work something out between the two.

They only promised to cease their raids if Hiccup was able to stop the other group of dragons that also raided the village. They didn't see the point of having to stop if the other Nest of dragons continued the raids.

Hiccup was so annoyed with their way of thinking that he decided to stay in the village until the next raid. He did promise them that he would protect them after all, and he had no intentions of not fulfilling it. It would be difficult to sway this Nest's way of thinking to his own, but Hiccup was confident in his abilities.

It wasn't a complete waste of time. The six dragons that had startled him during his talk with the chief continued to stay with them and Hiccup was able to start teaching them the commands he had come up with a long time ago.

They would have to understand and respect his role as their general. After all, if the dragons just fought as they usually did against the Red Death they would lose instantly. The main problem they had to deal with was the alpha's control. Hiccup had worked long and hard with Windwalker to come up with a solution, and while it  _was_  a solution, it was still faulty at best.

An alpha's control could only be broken by another alpha. Hiccup knew and believed in Windwalker's abilities, but he still had his doubts. After all, Windwalker was simply too nice to exert control immediately. Windwalker had brushed off his concerns, unfazed at his lack of belief. Hiccup could only hope that they would run into a stronger alpha on their journey.

It was one thing to break the Alpha's control, but it was another to prevent the alpha from taking control of the dragons while they were fighting. The only option was to  _prevent_  the control from actually reaching the fighting dragons. It was unthinkable to take away a dragon's sight, so they settled with blocking off their ability to hear. As long as they were able to avoid looking directly at the alpha, control should be impossible. Of course, this made it difficult for Hiccup, because he would have to rely on hand signals to pass along messages. He had tried using a technique with vibrations to pass along messages, but he hadn't come up with a satisfactory tool to use effectively yet. Of course, this could all be fixed if they found a strong enough alpha to exert his or her  _own_  control to protect them.

But regardless of the problems with the Red Death, Hiccup still needed to figure out a game plan to deal with the raiding dragons. He still wasn't sure if these dragons were going to be ones controlled by the Red Death, or if they were an actual Nest of dragons that he had to convince to fight for him. He knew that it would come to violence; he had entertained the idea of diplomacy but Toothless had snorted and Hiccup immediately knew it was a pipe dream. They had no reason to listen to him and Hiccup knew he would have to think fast on his feet in order to keep casualties on the downside.

Fighting was going to happen. Hiccup hoped he would be able to keep it to a fight between the alpha and him, but the chances of that happening was slim. So he had to rely on the six dragons that were still with him. They were young and inexperienced, but Hiccup hoped that with his way of thinking, they would be able to hold back the dragons of the raiding alpha. They would have to rely on tactical advantages rather than fighting each dragon outright, especially because Hiccup wanted to refrain from hurting the dragons. Hiccup knew it was probably a shot in the dark, but he also wanted to try and make peace between this village and the new Nest of dragons. He didn't want to hurt them, and he hoped he would be able to convince them that humans and dragons could coexist peacefully.

Hiccup also started to get along with the villagers. He hadn't wanted to at first, still smarting at their callous treatment of him when they had first met, but he had been won over by their archery skills. He had declined their offer of a place to stay, opting to stay in the wilderness with the six dragons and Toothless. He was sure they were put off by that; they probably thought he was a freak of nature. But he had chanced upon them hunting one day, and remembering their close miss with the arrows the first day, he had awkwardly announced his presence to them. He had to block a few hastily aimed arrows with his armor, but in the end, they had opened up to him.

Archery was  _hard_. It was one thing to have a crossbow, but using a bow and arrow required a precision that Hiccup lacked. Hiccup had the necessary upper body strength from years in working in a forge; after all, there were a  _lot_  of material that was heavier than a ton of bricks. But still, Hiccup kept at it, if only because it gave him something to do. His invention was nice and all, but the range was short and it wasn't as accurate as he liked it to be. That and there was no way to fire more than one bolt at a time. Hiccup was hoping that he would become proficient enough to fire off three arrows at once, but knew it was likely going to be a long time before he reached that point.

While the people he hunted with were starting to understand him, the regular townspeople still treated him as if he had the plague. Whenever he went into town to get supplies he couldn't otherwise get from the wild, they acted as if he was a demon. They were scared to interact with him, and while Hiccup refrained from bringing Toothless in, he had to start wearing his armor in case the hostility got to unbearable levels. It was at that point he realized he needed to start learning self-defense against humans.

He was nimble enough to avoid dragons thanks to the years of living in Windwalker's nest, but also thanks to those years, he had also gotten a superiority complex. He didn't view humans as dangerous as dragons, and he knew he had to rectify that line of thinking immediately. After all, he had just proved to the new Nest that humans had a line of thinking that made them dangerous in a way completely different than dragons.

There weren't many weapons that Hiccup shared an interest in. His father was proficient in a hammer; in fact, most of the Vikings used some type of large blunt weapon to smash their opponents' face in. But that type of fighting style would never work with Hiccup. Even if he got good enough to wield it expertly, the weapon would add too much extra weight to when he was riding on Toothless. Besides, the main reason Vikings usually used such heavy weapons was because they needed to kill dragons and Hiccup had no intention of ever doing so.

He needed something small, but sharp enough to still do damage. The only option  _was_  a sword, even if Toothless expressed concern at Hiccup wielding something that could do fatal damage. Hiccup was  _clumsy_  and Toothless didn't think it impossible that Hiccup would harm himself.

Still, he needed some sort of way to fight close distance and relying on his hands were stupid enough considering the fact that his bare fists would never harm a dragon. He wanted something that could work on both species and a sword was the best option.

He crafted the sword himself, out of the spare material he had kept from when he had made his armor. It was something of a novelty. He had always crafted weapons for the others in his village, but never for himself. He had kept to more defensive things or to crafty inventions, so to actually make something with the ability to kill another human being put his nerves on edge.

He made it thin enough to wield easily, but sharp enough to pierce even the toughest of dragon's skins. It wasn't designed to kill, but it would be enough to allow him to hold out against human opponents before Toothless reached him.

He would have to find someone to teach him when he got out of the village; there was a man that helped him with the basics but could go no further. Hiccup didn't mind the setback; he knew he had to get better at the basics before he could even dream of moving onto more advanced stuff.

His archery increased leaps and bounds. Although he had learned it as another option to wielding his dragon-specific weapons, he had also gotten quite good at using the bow and arrow for hunting. He had even gotten a doe the other day with a well-timed arrow. Hiccup was beginning to enjoy being proficient in protecting himself, and he resolved himself to learning more rather than just focusing on training the dragons.

After all, how could he garner the dragons' respect if he was still the same weakling from Berk?

The days became a blur because they were full of things to do. Hiccup was busy, and it showed in how his body was becoming accustomed to less sleep. He enjoyed it though; Hiccup was the type of person that liked to be kept busy.

Still, the thought of the raid never left the forefront of his mind; it was a reminder of why he was still residing in the village. It was a month later when it finally happened.

The raid came when he least expected it. He was halfway into his bathing rituals when he heard the first scream, and it took him a few precious seconds to scramble back into his armor. The villagers had been taught to hide in the safe areas and let him deal with the raiding dragons, but Hiccup knew fear sometimes overrode a person's logic. As such, worry found its place in his heart. Worry that his plans wouldn't do enough, that the village may still perish even after placing their faith in him.

Toothless found him a minute later. Hiccup couldn't help pressing his forehead against Toothless' scales, taking a few deep and calming breaths before swinging a leg over Toothless' back. He checked to ensure he had his sword attached to his waist, his bow on his back, and his crossbow hidden in a pouch on his side before urging Toothless to fly off.

Chaos erupted around them. Hiccup had hoped he would have found the alpha before anything happened, but it looked like he was out of luck. Fire littered the village, and although he had placed in some dampening inventions before the raid, the fire still burned on. It was heartbreaking, but from experience in Berk, Hiccup knew the village would survive.

The six dragons flew into place beside him a few minutes later, their incessant chatter gone in the face of the calamity. Hiccup regarded them silently before sending them a nod of thanks for coming even with the multitude of dragons surrounding the entrance to the village. They had no love for the village, so Hiccup was eternally grateful that they had still come.

Hiccup flew over the place where the dragons had gathered, scanning them and calculating which plan would have the most success. It only took him a moment, and then he was urging Toothless with a grunt. Toothless nodded in compliance, letting out a roar a second later and alerting those to their presence.

They landed a second later, flanked by the six dragons.

It was a calculated risk. Hiccup knew he wouldn't be harmed even if the dragons decided to attack before asking questions; the armor saw to that. Still, it was extremely risky to risk all of their lives by landing in front of the enemy.

Hiccup removed his mask despite Toothless' protests, stepping out from the circle of dragons. The smoke burned his eyes and made them water, but he kept the mask off anyway, searching the dragons in front of him for the distinctive markings of an alpha.

When none of the enemy dragons moved, Hiccup knew he had to make the first move. He slowly reached to the side of his belt, unsheathing his sword and wielding it expertly in front of the dragons.

They watched him cautiously, but didn't seem inclined to fear him.

"I bring a proposition," he said in Dragonese, and wasn't shocked when the dragons reacted with surprise. It happened far too often for Hiccup not to expect it. "Who is the alpha here?'

The dragons parted, revealing a dragon that was several times larger than Toothless. The dragon's color resembled a rainbow and she looked more like a python than the many other dragons Hiccup had seen before. He vaguely remembered the entry he had read about her while in the Wanderer's care. A breathquencher, known to squeeze and suffocate their victims. The dragon's tail also ended in a stinger, with horns on the head with wings wide and large.

"I am she," the dragon roared, "And I don't take lightly to humans trying to usurp a dragon's dominance. Who are you, little human, to dare learn a dragon's tongue?"

Hiccup winced at the sheer loudness of her voice, but knew he shouldn't show any sign of weakness. He shouldered through it, and with one hand resting on Toothless to draw courage, he spoke. "I want to know why you raid this village."

"Are you the guardian of this village? If you are human, how then do you have dragons at your side? Have you slaved them under your will?"

Toothless roared in denial at her response, lunging forward and curling himself protectively around Hiccup. "I am not a slave!" Toothless hissed.

The alpha hadn't expected such a vehement response, and she faltered in her long-winding speech. She quietly regarded the two of them in front of her, and it was a long silence later before she spoke again. "I must confess," she said, sounding a little lost, "the pair of you are quite curious. Never in my years have I seen such a strange combination. Dragons and humans have never understood each other. Yet, you two stand before me."

Hiccup rubbed his gratitude into Toothless' scales with shaking hands, his eyes never leaving the large alpha's. She was larger than any dragon he had ever seen before, and it was all Hiccup could do to keep himself in place. He wasn't even sure if any of his weapons could even pierce her skin, and neither was he sure he could win without harming her or being harmed. But he couldn't fail now, he had made a promise and besides, if he couldn't beat this alpha, there was no way they were going to defeat the Red Death. This alpha, although large, was still several times smaller than the Red Death.

Still, she held a sense of regalness around her, and it made Hiccup think that she was going to be the answer to their prayers. She looked like an alpha that could keep her own safe from another alpha, and strong enough to break another alpha's control.

He couldn't mess this up. They had her interest, and now they only had to keep it.

"We're a bit odd," Hiccup shamelessly admitted, "I mean, how often have you seen a dragon and a human coexist peacefully? Toothless and I, we may be the first dragon riders in the whole world. But we do symbolize something more than just one partnership between a downed dragon and a lonely Viking. Humans and dragons can coexist. Let me show you just how powerful we are."

The alpha was silent, and the dragons around her restless as they tried to follow along with the conversation. She seemed to be thinking hard over what Hiccup had said, and it showed in the way her body looked. She was tense head to toe, and her casual demeanor from before had vanished. "Are you suggesting we fight?"

Hiccup let out a soft sigh of relief, "Yes. That would be the fastest way."

"The night fury has the makings of an alpha. Short of a fight to the death, there is no way we can duel and have both of us make it out alive. If we duel and I lose, the night fury must become alpha of my people. That is my only condition."

"I don't want that," exclaimed Hiccup, alarmed. He could feel Toothless tensing under him, and he knew Toothless' mind was just as puzzled as his. Toothless had no want of becoming an alpha. Although the two of them had decided to take down the Red Death, they both didn't want to be responsible for a large amount of people. Already, the two villages Hiccup had taken under his wing were giving Hiccup more trouble than he thought it was worth.

"Then I suggest you fight my strongest warrior." The alpha nodded and a Deadly Nadder made its way to the front of the crowd, its scales a shining light blue. "But two against one is hardly fair. The little human will fight this battle alone."

"Humans have won against a single dragon for years," Hiccup pointed out, his heart accelerating at the thought of having to fight without Toothless. "This battle will prove nothing."

"Oh, little human, you misunderstand me. I am most interested in you, not in the partnership between you and the night fury. After all, is it not you who is commanding another six dragons as well as the night fury? I want to see what you are capable of."

Hiccup blinked in surprise; he hadn't expected her response and he had hardly prepared for a fight without Toothless, but deep down inside, he knew he could do it. He had been training for the better part of the last month, and he had lived with dragons for even longer. If his father, who had never understood dragons in the first place, could defeat dragons, then so could he. And Hiccup had history with Deadly Nadders. He knew their physiology as well as he knew his own.

"Toothless?" he asked cautiously, and was hardly surprised when Toothless turned a disgruntled expression at him.

"You're thinking of actually doing this?" the night fury said softly, and there was a discontented grumble in his throat when Hiccup nodded. "'If you die, I'll never forgive your stupidity."

"Hey!" shouted Hiccup, offended. "My plans usually work out, don't they?"

"This one hardly counts as a plan," the dragon mumbled with discontent.

"Trust me, buddy," he whispered, burying his face for comfort into Toothless' scales. They had been through so much together and had always had each other to rely on when things got tough. But they did have their own accomplishments as well, and Hiccup knew that he could win this battle.

The night fury continued to look discontent, but Toothless finally heaved a long sigh and nodded.

Hiccup murmured his thanks before drawing away from his partner. He turned to face the Deadly Nadder, his heart beating at an accelerated pace.

Hiccup's hands were shaking, but his mind and core were calm. The feel of the sword's hilt in his hand was comforting, and Hiccup knew he had a lot in his arsenal to back him up if he needed it.

He felt as if he was back in the training academy in Berk. When all he had to do was rely on a few tricks he had learned from being with Toothless to succeed in a battle. But it was hardly the same; this time, there was a very real possibility that he would forfeit his life.

But he was also extremely different from who he was a year ago. He wasn't the sniveling little boy that let others command his will; he knew exactly who he was now, and he had a goal that he would work tirelessly for. He had a whole village to protect, and he couldn't let down the six dragons, and Toothless, who had placed their faith in him. They saw in him a possibility that humans and dragons could work together, and Hiccup would do anything to ensure

He didn't have a shield in his hand, and neither did he have the comforting presence of the other Vikings around him. But he didn't need either. He may be alone on the battlefield, but he had his years of experience with him.

The fight started in an instant and the Deadly Nadder was on him in the next. The dragon kicked out with her front legs and it was all Hiccup could do was to dodge as nimbly as he could. Still, a claw got his right shoulder, dragging a huge scratch into his armor with a screeching noise. No mark remained but the force of it knocked the breath out of Hiccup for a split second.

Hiccup fell back by rolling underneath the Deadly Nadder as she flew forward once again to attack. When he got back into an upright position, he was able to get the sword in front of him just in time to deflect the blow she sent toward him. The reverberations almost made him lose his grip on the sword in his hand, but he held steady.

The Deadly Nadder drew away a second later, her yellow eyes watching him warily and her mouth clicking angrily. Hiccup knew better than to be scared of her incessant growling and used the momentary lapse in the fight to figure out the best way to defeat her.

He didn't want to kill her, even if the alpha had made it clear that death was not an unwelcome conclusion. He knew dragons fought to the death, but he wasn't a dragon and he didn't want to use a death to make his point. After all, he was advocating peace, and he wanted to achieve his goal without violence.

The Deadly Nadder was on him once again, and Hiccup's thoughts took the backseat as he weaved between her attacks. She was slow compared to Toothless and every time she used her legs to kick, she lost her balance little by little. He was just starting to think he was going to win, when the Deadly Nadder scored a lucky hit by lunging forward with her teeth instead of her legs. She got him in her grip, and with one beat of her wings, they were both in the air.

Hiccup wasn't scared despite of the deadly situation he was in. The dragon's teeth couldn't pierce his armor and he had been higher in the skies before on Toothless. Besides, if he fell, he knew Toothless would be able to catch him.

And she had left his arms free. He exhaled hard once before swinging his sword gripped tight into his right hand deep into the side of her scales. He was confident he had missed her vitals; he didn't want to kill her, but simply inconvenience her. The pain in her right side made the dragon cry out in shock and pain, releasing Hiccup from its toothy grip. Hiccup couldn't help the smirk that spread across his face, and he used the sword stuck in the side of the dragon to swing himself onto the top of the dragon.

He gripped the sword a second later, dragging it out to another roar of pain from the Deadly Nadder. The Deadly Nadder was just about to try and fling him off, when Hiccup pressed himself closer to the scales and held his sword at the Nadder's neck.

The dragon stilled, its anger radiating through the scales underneath Hiccup. Hiccup could pinpoint the exact moment the Deadly Nadder gave up because all of her muscles slackened.

"I yield," said the dragon softly. "I am not such a fool to think a human's tool cannot harm me."

Hiccup breathed a sigh of relief, and removed the sword from the dragon's neck. He wasn't scared of betrayal; most dragons valued honor and no dragon would renegade on a promise. The dragon quivered once in sadness underneath him before speaking, "You are a strange human," said the dragon. "Never had one of your kind shown me mercy."

"I'm not like most humans," agreed Hiccup, thinking back to the very moment he had decided to let Toothless go. He could've killed Toothless, brought his skull back to Berk to show his father and the others, but pride was something Hiccup did not value. Toothless' life should not be forfeit to add to his pride, and he never regretted that decision after he had made it.

"It is something grand," the dragon continued. "I did not believe in your ideals before this. I thought you were just another silly human, no matter your proficiency in the dragon's tongue. But you spared my life, and for that, my life is yours."

Hiccup was at a loss of what to say, so instead he settled for murmuring his thanks.

Before he could figure out what else to say, they were landing on the ground. He slipped off of the dragon with another quick thanks before being tackled onto the ground by an overjoyed night fury. Toothless licked him all over before letting up, and Hiccup couldn't find it in himself to be annoyed despite the mess. He wrapped his arms around Toothless, glad too that he was still alive.

"I thought you had died, you stupid, silly human."

"You have that little faith in me?" asked Hiccup. "Who was it that came up with a way to help you fly again?"

"After you tore it!" retorted the dragon.

"See!" said Hiccup, a small smile on his face as he tried to push back at the hurt that had bloomed at Toothless' words. They had hashed it out a long time ago; Hiccup could regret his actions all he wanted because it had made Toothless a cripple, but the fact remained that it had already happened. And besides, the action had led to their partnership and Hiccup had already repaid Toothless in the endless amount of prosthetics he had made. "You gotta admit now that I'm not just a helpless little human."

Toothless scoffed at his words, but the pride shining in his eyes didn't diminish. Toothless settled one paw on Hiccup, forcing him back to the ground with just a little force exerted. Hiccup struggled to get up but Toothless was too strong. The dragon above him lifted his head proudly, a dragon laugh escaping Toothless' lips. "Weak little human," the dragon teased.

A polite cough startled them, and suddenly the grand alpha was amongst them. She looked amused. "Now if you two would stop your antics, perhaps we can discuss what had just happened?"

Toothless removed his paw, allowing Hiccup to stand. There was a light tinge of pink on his cheeks, but Hiccup refused to acknowledge the fact that he felt like a scolded school boy.

"I am impressed, little human. Not many have bested Wingsnapper in battle. As such, I'll give you what you wanted. You wanted us to stop raiding this village, correct?"

"Y-yes," Hiccup stammered out when she looked at him expectantly. He had hardly expected her to agree so easily.

"What would you offer my people in return?"

Hiccup took a deep breath to calm his nerves and to sort his thoughts. "Just like my Nest, this village will offer a monthly tribute and companionship. If your dragons would want riders, they can look to the villagers. And in exchange, there will be no raids and you will offer protection if the villagers need it and it is in your capability to do so."

The alpha blinked, before a toothy smile appeared on her face. "A treaty with the humans? Sounds blasphemous. However, I'm willing to agree on one condition." At Hiccup's nod of agreement, she continued. "One of my young has gone missing. Last I heard, she had been taken by a group of Vikings and held captured there. If you successfully rescue her and sway these Vikings' minds, I will sign my agreement."

Hiccup exchanged a glance with Toothless before nodding again. He didn't mind agreeing because Toothless and him had already been planning on saving the captured dragons. Hiccup still had nightmares about the Monstrous Nightmare he had been slated to kill before he ran away. He hadn't wanted any other dragons to meet the same fate, so it wasn't a hardship for him to agree.

And he had already changed two villages' perception of dragons, one more wouldn't break his streak or his resolve.

"I'll do it," he said.

The alpha laughed, her laughter resembling a melody of bells, "I look forward to hear of your success."

She and the rest of the dragons took off a few minutes later, after telling Hiccup the directions to their Nest and the Viking village. Hiccup sank to a comfortable sitting position, resting his back against Toothless and seeking comfort that way.

The village had survived and he was already working toward another Nest. It may be wishful thinking, but Hiccup really thought that once they had this alpha's acceptance, they could take down the Red Death.

* * *

A/N: merry late xmas everyone! :) (if you celebrate it) Thanks for all the reviews, it is very sweet and makes me very happy :). Please review, favorite, and follow! Also, I decided to make Windwalker a Smothering Smokebreath and the second alpha a Sand Wraith (changed a few chapters to reflect this). Camicazi will be making an appearance next chapter! Still up on the air if I want Hiccstrid or HiccupxCamicazi (though this most likely will be shorttermed if it happens)...but if Hiccstrid happens then it'll be Part III and that's like twenty chapters away because Part II = Drago and Part I still isn't close to finishing because he still has to defeat the Red Death. Of course no romance is also an option...I usually write romance stories so this is like a breath of fresh air. Also anyone want to give me dragon names? xD.


	5. Camicazi

There was a storm the night Hiccup had planned to set out.  Hiccup was dismayed, but didn’t let the weather bring him down.  There was hail and thunder and Hiccup didn’t protest when Toothless declared that there was going to be no flying that night.

Hiccup ended up using the time to meet with the village’s chief.  He was known as the Long-Bearded Albert and although Hiccup had not had the best first impression of him, they had gotten to know each other pretty well during the month Hiccup had stayed.

Hiccup never would understand Viking humor, when one joked about death and violence as casually as they would about anything else.  They were still learning to keep their jokes about dragons down, but Hiccup didn’t begrudge them when they slipped up.

The tribe that he was going to be attacking belonged to Oswald the Agreeable.  Hiccup had the privilege of meeting him before and he knew there was a good chance that he would be able to sway the man's thinking.  Oswald was cowardly, and usually went along with whatever his father said.  As long as Hiccup was stern in his way of talking then there should be no problems.  A strong-headed approach was the best way to solve the problem fast.

The villagers were eternally grateful for what he had done for them.  The raid ended with only a few minor injuries and the burning buildings were saved by the dampening inventions he had made a while back.  They hadn't seen what had transpired down at the coast, but they knew they had him to thank for the deathless night.

When they had learned about the agreement with the other alpha, they had immediately offered some of their best warriors.  Hiccup had been appalled, but he had done his best to hide it.  He didn't want to declare _war_ on these Vikings.  He was just Hiccup!  All he wanted to do was to save the alpha's young and regroup to convince the Vikings that dragons were okay.

He was trying to advocate peace after all.  He tried not to think too hard about what he had to do to achieve that peace; he knew that sometimes war was inevitable and that violence sometimes _was_ the answer.  So far, the situations were resolved with peaceful actions and Hiccup wanted to do his best to keep it that way.

Still in order to remain cautious, he gratefully accepted their offers, even though he had no actions of taking them up on them.  He wanted to resolve this situation with just him and Toothless.

They were a bit more wary on the front of a treaty with the dragons.  They didn't know if the dragons would follow the rules even when Hiccup left, and they didn't want to give a monthly tribute to the dragons.  The protests quieted when Hiccup explained the tributes were mostly crops that dragons would be unable to get on their own.  Dragons didn't have to raid for food; they stuck to fish and the crops were the rare treat they enjoyed.  It did garner some bad will to learn that the dragons had been raiding them for _fun_ but it also helped them understand how beneficial a treaty would be.

Hiccup left in the morning.  He knew the way to Oswald's tribe, and it wouldn't be more than a day's flight away.  He was an hour into his flight when he flew over a shipwreck.

Hiccup stilled Toothless with a nudge of his foot; Toothless fell into a downward spiral until the wreckage was clear to see.  The wooden boat had been torn to pieces by yesterday's storm and there were traces of it all across the ocean.  Treasure, probably looted from others, were amidst the floating pieces and the sight of it instantly put Hiccup on guard.

He was wondering if he was peaceful enough to save _pirates_ when he caught sight of blonde hair.  He hesitated for a second longer before he was directing Toothless there.  When they got close enough to the water, Hiccup leaned off of Toothless, grabbing the girl's arm and with Toothless' help got her onto Toothless' back.

She spluttered and coughed, and when she finally looked up, Hiccup's blood ran cold.

He _knew_ her.

"Hiccup!?' cried the girl, her eyes wide.  "But everyone thinks you're dead!  Even your father!"

Hiccup winced at her words.

She barged on before he could reply, "And how are you even here?  Are we on a _dragon_?  And is this a saddle!?"

"Camicazi," Hiccup said.

She paused midst word, blinking at his interruption.  "Hiccup," she responded after a few moments.

"You're just how I remember you," said Hiccup, fondly.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" she asked, defensively.  "And if I don't like the response, I'll beat you up!"

"No, you wouldn't," laughed Hiccup.  Camicazi and him were _friends_ despite the fact that they lived in separate villages.  She was a whirlwind, words coming out of her faster than you could listen and a fiery passion in her eyes wherever she went.  She held the same levels of combat as Astrid, but unlike Astrid, Camicazi held a sweet spot for Hiccup.  She would beat up anyone who made Hiccup unhappy, and truth be told, the times when she was in the village were the happiest memories he had of Berk.

"I would, too!" protested Camicazi, though a smile threatened her lips.  "Can't have everyone think I'm going soft, after all."

"Oh no," teased Hiccup, waving his arms up as if something dire was happening.  "Whatever would we do now that everyone knows Camicazi is just a big ol' softie?"

"You take that back!" she immediately retorted, and then collapsed in giggles a second later.  Hiccup couldn't help the softening of his eyes as he watched her laugh; she looked exactly as he remembered and it was a treat to see her.  He thought they would never meet again.

She sobered up after a while, and Hiccup was dismayed to see her hands quiver where they were  folded up in her lap.  Her voice was soft when she spoke, "When I heard of your death, Hiccup, I was...it was _awful_.  No one else seemed to take it as hard as me; to them, you were just the runt of a son that was supposed to be heir of Berk.  But to me, you were my _best friend_ and you were dead!  How was I supposed to - " she hiccupped, and then buried her face into her hands.  Hiccup knew she was crying, and although he hesitated for a split second, he was able to summon his courage and wrap her into his arms.

It was difficult since they were still on Toothless and Hiccup was still strapped in, but with some maneuvering he was able to manage it.

She tensed at his touch and at first, Hiccup thought she would push away.  But after a few tense moments, a loud sob escaped from Camicazi and she was throwing herself into the half-hug Hiccup had initiated.  She buried her head into his chest, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry," said Hiccup.

"You stupid _idiot!_  Why didn't you _tell_ me you were still alive?  Why did you let me think you were dead?"  She pounded his chest in anger, but the strength behind them was missing.

Hiccup was at a loss on how to respond.  Because the truth was, he _hadn't_  been thinking about Camicazi when he had left.  He had been so torn up over the fear of his _own_ village that he hadn't even been able to think of anyone beside Toothless and those of Berk.  He shouldn't be blamed for doing so; the Bog Burglars only visited once a year.

And he thought the others would be just like Berk.  That they would condemn him the second the secret of Toothless got out.  All he had been thinking back then was how to survive, and when he finally escaped, all he had wanted to do was leave his old world behind.

He never thought someone other than his father would actually be hurt by his disappearance.

And he definitely didn't think Camicazi would care to the point in which she would cry over his death.

"I'm sorry," he whispered again, this time into her blonde hair as he drew her closer to him.  He couldn't hold back the tears that had started to leak from the edges of his eyes; the sight of her crying even when she knew he was alive now was _touching_.

"I _hate_ you," seethed Camicazi, but the heat was missing from the words.

"I'm so sorry," repeated Hiccup.

"Don't you dare apologize for being alive!" she commanded angrily, and Hiccup couldn't help the cough-laugh that escaped his lips.

"I'm not - I'm sorry for not telling you, Camicazi.  I was just - it was a really bad time for me."

"Oh, Hiccup," murmured Camicazi.  She drew away a second later, tears making her baby blue eyes bright and warm.  "I'm not mad, Hiccup.  I had eyes, too, you know.  You weren't meant to be a Viking."

Hiccup froze at her words, and hurt bloomed in his chest.  "I," he knew he looked crestfallen, but the words brought back hurt that he would have rather left forgotten.

"Hiccup," said Camicazi, and she placed a comforting hand on his.  "I didn't mean that in a bad way."

"No, it's just, I was raised to be the heir of Berk.  Even now, I can still see the disappointment in my father's eyes."

"He never should have been disappointed," said Camicazi, softly, as if any louder she would startle him.  "You're _amazing,_ Hiccup, and it's not your fault that your village couldn't see it.  Bog Burglars only returned to get weapons from _you_ and our village loved your work!  They're still floundering now with only Gobber to help them out."

"I never knew," said Hiccup.  "I always thought I was unwanted."

"I'm so sorry, Hiccup, for never saying anything until it was too late."

Hiccup shook his head immediately, "You were there for me when no one else wasn't.  I could never blame you."

"At first," said Camicazi hesitantly, "when I heard the news, I thought, Oh, it's finally gotten to that point.  I didn't believe you died to the dragon by accident, I thought, oh Odin, I thought you did it on _purpose_."

"What!?  I wasn't - I ..."

"I felt horrible.  What kind of friend am I to not notice how much pain you were in?  I should've done something....I should've been there for you."

Hiccup felt extremely awkward; he wasn't sure of what to say even though what Camicazi was talking about directly related to him.  He had pushed back all the thoughts of Berk to the back of his mind, because when he was out here, exploring the wilderness with Toothless, those thoughts truly didn't matter.  He wasn't one to get depressed or down about the little things and even _if_ he felt as if the whole town didn't accept him for who he was, he was still able to get up and try again.  And if he was alright , then there was no point in dwelling in the fact that he had felt _so_ alone in Berk that he had turned to their _worst_ enemy to find comfort.  The fact that he had put Toothless' life before the rest of Berk's...it was telling enough that he didn't belong with them.

Still, Camicazi was here, and she was currently bawling her eyes out because of something that he had long ago forgotten.  Just by looking at her tearstained face, he felt the tear in his heart start to repair itself.  He couldn't help the soft smile that spread across his face.  "It's alright," he said, "Camicazi, you did the best you could do, and you helped me more than anyone else in the village.  So really, don't feel bad.  I don't even think about what happened, and as you can see, I am _definitely_  not suicidal."

"You say that," said Camicazi, after a few moments of silence filled with a few sniffles, "but you're riding a dragon!  Isn't that suicidal?'

He was surprised into laughing, "Well...there were some close calls."  He thought back fondly of the first real test drive he did with Toothless, when he had fallen off and had barely been able to scramble back on.   He really did possess a love for danger if he had tried to ride a dragon so soon after befriending him.

"Told you," said Camicazi triumphantly.  Hiccup rolled his eyes fondly, before directing Toothless into a smooth landing.  The island they landed on was small, with a few foliage and a wide expanse of a beach.  It was probably uncharted because it was so small, but Camicazi still made a sound of happiness at the fact that they were on _solid_ land again.

She swung off, plopping down onto the ground with a sound of relief.  A second later and she was wringing her braid out onto the sand.  "Ugh, I hate being on the water.  And in the air, for that matter."

"You don't think it's weird?  Riding a dragon?"

"Weird?  I think it's downright _insane_ , but...you're Hiccup," she said, her eyes still cast downward as she tried her best to wring the water out of her clothes.  "You were never known for being particularly right in the mind, you know."

"Hey!" shouted Hiccup, playfully.  "You take that back, you...you wench!"

She gasped, looking up with wide eyes as if she was truly offended, but a smile was dancing on her lips.  "You dare call me a wench?  You evil, kidnapping, erm, Viking!"

"Ha ha, you're real witty, aren't you?" Hiccup teased, but he sobered up soon.  "My dad would disown me if he found out about Toothless."

"And probably kill the dragon too," said Camicazi, softly.  "But your dad had a reason to hate dragons.  We never really encountered them, truth be told."

"Do you think he'll ever understand?"

Camicazi hemmed, falling back so she was laying down and looking up into the bright sun.  "I don't know, Hiccup," she said after a while.

"It's just, I just wish he would _listen_ to me, for once."  He caressed Toothless' scales absentmindedly, playing with the saddle straps as he thought back to the time in which he tried to tell his father that he really _couldn't_ do dragon training and getting nothing to show for his efforts.  Sometimes he wondered if his father's stubbornness could have been tempered by his mother's presence, but he always shut off that kind of thinking before it got too depressing.  "Dragons are _amazing_ , Camicazi.  They're just like us, with communities and wars fought over territories.  They even have a trading system!"

Camicazi had rolled over during his impromptu speech, and when Hiccup had finished, he had been startled to see her so close.  She was smiling, "If they could all fly like that, I can see why you would think so."

"There's just no reason to fight them anymore.  I just...I want there to be peace between us and them."

"Kinda hard to ask for when they're known for raiding villages, though, isn't it?" asked Camicazi.

"Not when they have me," said Hiccup, a shark's smile on his face.

"Okay, I give up," she said, a playful tint in her eyes,  "Just because you get along with _one_ dragon, that doesn't mean you get along with all of them."

"I can _talk_  to them Camicazi.  I already made one treaty with a group of Vikings and dragons and on my way to a second.  Let me show you.  Tell me something you want Toothless to do."

"Uhm, shoot a fireball into the air?"

He turned, asking Toothless, who was now sprawled out on the warm sand to shoot a fireball into the air.  Toothless blinked, considered his request for about two seconds, before fulfilling his request.

"Okay, quite impressive," said Camicazi.  "Do you think I can learn?"

"Maybe," he said, surprised.  In all his travels, no one had actually asked him that.

"So, little Hiccup here has already become leader of two Viking villages?" she teased.

"Whaaa- I wouldn't say that _exactly_ ," said Hiccup, a light dusting of pink on his cheeks.  "I'm not the chief or anything."

"Still pretty cool," said Camicazi.

"Yeah, yeah, you can stop teasing me now," he said, laughing.  She giggled too, and Hiccup turned before he continued to stare at her laughing.  "Anyway, do you remember Oswald the Agreeable?"

"Yeah, he was nice, but Dagur, his son...not so much.  I still think he killed his dad, to be honest."

"What!?" exclaimed Hiccup, sitting up.  "You mean Dagur is the chief now?  Crazy Dagur that used to hang me by my ankles with traps?"

"The very same," said Camicazi, her nose wrinkled at the thought of him.  "We actually had to stop visiting the village because Dagur is so bloodthirsty.  All he wants to do is fight dragons and show off how strong he is."

"So you think the chances of him agreeing that dragons should be kept away from is close to zero?"

Camicazi digested his words, before sitting up as well.  "You're insane, Hiccup.  You aren't thinking of trying to conquer Dagur, are you?"

"I have to," he said, dismayed.  "I already promised."

"'It'll be difficult, but hmm, with me and you combined, I'm sure we can do it."

"Oh no, no, you are _not_ coming with me, Camicazi."

"But just think about it!  You'll need someone like me to watch your back."

"No," Hiccup protested, firmly.  "I got Toothless for that.  And with your hot-headed temper, I bet there's no way Dagur would listen to me."

Camicazi didn't even seem offended by her words, instead nodding along as if she agreed with his words about her temper.  "Fine, but you saved my life.  I owe you!  If it wasn't for you, I would still be out there in the water."  She shuddered once, as if to show her intense dislike of the ocean.

Hiccup's eyes narrowed, "You never did tell me why you're all the way out here.  Don't tell me...did you run away from - ?"

He was cut off by Camicazi's swift punch to his arm.  "Please, not everyone's like you, Hiccup!  I just went out to get supplies for my people."

"Hmm, not to say I don't believe you, but there _was_ treasure floating around out there."

Camicazi flushed, a pout suddenly appearing on her features.  "Fine, you got me.  I _did_ happen across some pirates and wanted to show to my mother that I _can_ be trusted to run the village she wasn't there.  And then I got caught up in the storm, and well, you know the rest."

Hiccup couldn't help laughing, and fended off the blows of anger from Camicazi easily.  "Okay, okay, I'm sorry, but it's just so you to go off and fight a group of pirates by yourself."

She scoffed, before settling down.  "They weren't even that strong."

"Right," said Hiccup with just a touch of disbelief.  When she frowned, he just let out another chuckle and she threatingly held up a fist.  "Anyway, do you want me to drop you off?"

"Dagur's village is along the way, so maybe..."

"Absolutely not," said Hiccup, though he smiled at her anyway.  "Come on, I'm sure your mother is worried about you."

She heaved a long and suffering sigh, but when Hiccup got onto Toothless, she didn't hesitate to climb on behind him.  She wrapped her arms around Hiccup's waist, "Promise me you'll come to me if something happens?"

"What could happen?" asked Hiccup.  "I'm _the_ Dragon Lord, Dagur's got nothing on me."

"Right," she drawled.  "Just remember, I'm here for you if you need me."

"Yeah, I know.  Thanks for well, thanks for being here."

"Anytime, Hiccup."

They fell into a comfortable silence and it wasn't long before they were parting ways.  Hiccup had no intention of finding her again even though he knew where the Bog Burglars were located because he had more important things to focus on than recovering a long last friendship.  He didn't have time to be selfish for himself because the Red Death was still out there terrorizing dragons and humans everywhere and if something happened to Toothless because he was being negligent, he would never forgive himself.

He sighed, falling backwards so he was laying on his back on Toothless.  They were flying over the ocean toward Dagur's tribe and it was rapidly approaching nighttime.

"You won't miss the little human?" asked Toothless.

"Nah, I've got you," said Hiccup, but he wasn't entirely sure in his words.

Toothless whacked him with one of his ears, prompting a yelp from Hiccup.  "Hey!"

"Time to concentrate on the Viking village that we're going to storm.  Enough thoughts about blonde Viking girls."

Hiccup flushed hard; he had told Toothless long time ago about his crush on Astrid and the night fury never ceased to make fun of him.  He hoped one day they would run across a female night fury so he could get the dragon back.  "You're mean," he said, petulantly, but carried on immediately about his plan  so Toothless couldn't respond.

They were going to sneak in, just like they had once snuck into Berk to outfit Toothless properly.  Only Astrid had caught them, and only because she had been tailing him at the time.  He was pretty sure that their stealth wasn't abysmal, and his armor was as black as Toothless' scales so he was sure they were going to be fine.

He didn't know for sure which one was the alpha's young, so he was planning to save all of the captured dragons.  Even if he did know which one was hers, he was still going to save the others because he didn't want to leave any dragons in a hostile territory if he could help it.

It was a little optimistic, but Hiccup believed that their training would pay off.

It was a couple more hours till they reached Dagur's.  It was pitch black and they relied on Toothless' night vision to maneuver successfully.  Hiccup didn't feel hindered at all by the dark; he knew Toothless would tell him if anything was coming and he had been with Toothless for so long now that the dragon felt like an extension to his own senses.

It wasn't long before Toothless stilled.  Hiccup tensed, his eyes blindly searching the area around him and lamenting for the hundredth time that humans didn't have the same night vision as dragons.   He pressed himself downward so his mouth was right next to Toothless' ear.  "Is it safe?" he murmured as soft as he dared, and was relieved when he felt Toothless nod.  He slid off carefully, keeping one hand on Toothless to keep steady.

If they were like Berk, then it wouldn't be surprising that they kept their captured dragons so far out from civilization.  It also wasn't surprising that there was no one keeping guard.  He had wondered often just how the dragons got fed in Berk, and had come to the realization that they were probably _rarely_ fed in order to keep them aggressive enough for dragon training.  It was a grim realization, and it only made Hiccup more determined to change the world for the better.

"How are we going to get in?" he asked Toothless, once his outstretched hand had touched wood.  After feeling around some more, he was pretty sure that he had reached the outside of the cages that the Vikings probably kept the dragons in.

"Fire?" asked Toothless.

"No," murmured Hiccup back, "that would be too risky.  They'll see it in the air.  Still," he hesitated, thinking it over in his mind before continuing, "you do have a point."  He fell to his knees, reaching out with a hand to find a sturdy branch.  It took him a minute, but after crawling around he was able to find one.  He lifted it up, holding it in front of Toothless.  "Fire?"

Toothless spit out a small ball of fire, hitting the dry branch and setting the tip of it aflame.  Immediately, the surroundings around them became clear.  They were standing in front of a large wooden building, complete with Viking decorations and the smell of fish.  Hiccup wrinkled his nose in distaste.  "Can you smell them?"

He watched as Toothless lifted his head into the air.  A moment later, Toothless nodded.

"Well, no time like the present," said Hiccup.  He led Toothless around the side of the building until they reached a door.  They were lucky; the Vikings had forgotten to lock it and it swung open with just a small sound.  He pressed himself to the side of the door, waiting to the count of three before pushing the door open wider and leading Toothless inside.  The sight that greeted him almost made him throw up; there were three dragons all in varying states of disarray.  Untreated wounds littered the sides of the dragons and they looked far too skinny to think they have been fed regularly.

It made his heart break when he thought back to the dragons in Berk.  Did they also look like this when they were made to return to their cages?

They looked up when he walked in, and the lack of response made Hiccup frown.  "Hello?" he said softly in Dragonese.  He repeated himself once more when there was no response, and was dismayed when they didn't answer again.

He knew he shouldn't release them without checking if they were hostile or not.  The danger was very real especially because he didn't know if they were still sane.  But...he couldn't leave them there because the guilt would be too much.

He drew his sword, testing its sharpness against the metal cages with a loud bang.  The dragons looked up at the noise, but didn't do much else.  He wasn't strong enough to cut through the actual bars, but the padlocks of the cage's entrances was felled to a slash of his sword.

"I'm here to rescue you," he said.  "Don't be afraid."  He cautiously approached the dragon that was hiding in the corner of the cage.

As soon as he got close enough, the dragon lunged.  Toothless bumped into Hiccup from behind, successfully getting Hiccup out of harm's way and deflecting the attack with one quick sweep of his tail.  "Hiccup!  Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he answered, shaken.

Toothless turned his attention back to the fallen dragon, his teeth out and bared at the broken dragon.  The dragon was growling, but had settled back down into its sedentary position in the cage's corner.

"Toothless," said Hiccup, pushing Toothless gently out of the way so he could get a closer look at the dragon.  His or her eyes were crazed, and Hiccup doubted that they would be able to get through to him or her.  "Do you think we can knock the dragon out?   I don't think we'll be able to get through."

Toothless regarded his words silently for a few moments before giving a short and cursory nod.  He was on the dragon in seconds, knocking it out with a well timed swipe of his paw.

"I can carry the Terrible Terror on my back," said Toothless.  "The other two...we'll have to figure something else out."

Luckily, the other two dragons were sane enough to agree to follow them out.  They didn't make much conversation, but they seemed to understand that Hiccup was trying his best to save them.

The escape passed without incident.  The cages were far enough away that any noise or light they made went unnoticed.  Hiccup thanked his lucky stars that everything went off without a hitch, even though inside he was still suspicious of everything that had happened.  If the dragons were kept in such an unguarded place, it didn't make sense that the other alpha hadn't been able to rescue them.

He felt as if he was missing something extremely important.  Still, he had saved three dragons and he had to focus on getting them somewhere safe.

They had to stop and rest a few times before they reached the Nest.  Hiccup and Toothless had gotten proficient in hunting for fish even when they had no fish traps and they were thankful for the skill when the two dragons started eating.  They had been starved for so long; it had taken them two hours of fishing and feeding before they were finally sated.

It was nearing dawn when they approached the Nest.  This time, instead of in a mountain, they were in a cave guarded by a waterfall.  The water was cold and drenching when they passed through, prompting a small sneeze from Hiccup as they continued to fly into the Nest.

They were greeted by the Deadly Nadder Hiccup had bested.  She seemed happy to see them, but became serious when she became aware of their charges.  Things happened quickly in an orderly fashion; before they knew it, Toothless and Hiccup were being ushered to meet with the alpha while the three dragons were taken to a resting area.

The breathquencher was radiant in the dawning sun.  Her scales reflected off a myriad of colors, and Hiccup was fascinated by the ways the colors blended into each other.   He had never seen another like her, and was equally fascinated by the way her room was built.  Since she didn't rely on legs as much as the other dragons, her place was completely flat.  Just like Toothless, she had also dragged in a large rock to sunbathe on.

She greeted them with cheer, inviting them to sit and partake in her breakfast of fish.  Toothless didn't hesitate to dig in.  Hiccup hesitated, but when Toothless made a small fire for him without a word, he ended up frying a few fish to abate his hunger.

It wasn't long before one of the dragons they had rescued came in.  It was a Wooly Howl, its most distinctive feature being the furry look its scales possessed.  It seemed as if it was washed up, and its small yellow eyes seemed intelligent as it darted from the alpha to Hiccup and Toothless.

"I'm glad to see you're feeling better," said Hiccup.

The Wooly Howl blinked at his words, "I thought I was dreaming when I heard a human speaking our tongue."

The alpha laughed at the dragon's words.  "It is not something you see often these days."

The dragon glanced at the alpha briefly before training its eyes onto Hiccup again.  "Thank you for saving me, young human. Our death was coming on the morrow."

"They were going to execute you?" asked Hiccup, his eyes wide and his lower teeth digging painfully into his lower lip.  "That's barbaric!"

He fell into a contemplative silence at his words, a hot flush spreading across his cheeks as he remembered that he was supposed to execute the Monstrous Nightmare before he had flown away on Toothless.  Berk was no better.

"Every thirty days, the captured dragons are pitted in a fight against the humans.  If we are able to survive for a specific amount of time, we live. If not, we die."

He wanted to explode on the evilness of the Vikings.  To claim that they had no right to live after the atrocities they had served these three dragons.  But they had done something similar with Gobber's class.

Hiccup made a soft noise of dismay, burying his face into his hands at the thought of it all.  He didn't know how he was supposed to feel, but there was a burning anger within him at the things the dragons were forced to partake in.

He almost wanted to declare war on them, to show them that what they were doing was _wrong_.  He didn't think they were going to listen by diplomacy, and now...he didn't feel as if violence was the wrong answer.

"My young wasn't with the three dragons you brought back.  Are there still dragons within the village?" asked the alpha.

The Wooly Howl nodded grimly.  "Yes.  We were sent away to make room because we were believed to die in the next round.  The real cages are guarded well.   The only chance of escape is during the tournament."

Hiccup frowned at the idea of dragons still being held captured in the village.  Still, he couldn't just sneak in again; there were more dragons this time and they would be guarded.  That meant a full-frontal assault was the only course of action.

"Do you know when the next tournament will be held?"

"In about a week or so," answered the Wooly Howl.

The Vikings _had_ promised him to come to his aid if he needed them to and he still had the Lord's Guard to help if he wanted to return to his Nest.

"What if we enter this tournament?" asked Toothless.  "You do know Dagur and it would allow us to win the captured dragons over to our side."

Hiccup was about to say no to the idea when he paused and thought more about it.  It _was_ a good plan.  He needed to get close to Dagur in hopes that it wouldn’t turn into the all-out brawl ad full frontal assault would end up in.  He had done it before; confronting the leader head on always led to less violence. “It’s a good idea,” he said after a while.

The alpha readily agreed.  “We’ll have to come up with a good plan, however.  We will come to your aid when you need it.  But first, you two need to get some sleep.”

Hiccup was just about to protest, but as soon as he registered the words, his eyes started to close and a yawn started to form.  He hadn’t realized how tired he was from the constant flight and the emotional contact with Camicazi.  Toothless must even be more tired from the flying and he turned to look at his dragon with worried eyes.

Toothless caught his look of pity, “A little flying isn’t going to kill me, Hiccup.”

“But I should have noticed how tired you were!”

Toothless heaved a sigh, “Don’t you be going soft on me.  I’m a _night fury_ so that means I should be strong enough to fly for hours.”

Hiccup still couldn’t help feeling guilty and he wrapped his arms around Toothless as a wordless apology.

Toothless grumbled but accepted the hug.  The alpha watched on, bemused at their interactions.  

It wasn’t long before they were being shown to the guest rooms of the Nest.  It wasn’t something they were used to; the cave was damp and the air unfresh.  But they were tired enough that when Toothless curled up on a rock around Hiccup, they fell fast asleep.

\---

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Need to rewrite ch 6...so I'm not sure if I'll be able to keep up with next friday uploads. But anyway, please enjoy and happy new year everyone! And it most likely will be Hiccstrid but that won't be till another 20 chapters! Please comment and kudos, it really keeps me going :)

**Author's Note:**

> I love HTTYD SO MUCH. I'm still on the fence of pairing Astrid and Hiccup together or leaving him single. Let me know your thoughts? Please give kudos and comment! I love hearing feedback :) 
> 
> I wrote this for the HTTYD kink meme, in which someone requested "Where Hiccup and Toothless fly off on an adventure and return to Berk having achieved world domination completely by accident."


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